The Seabiscuit Story consists of actual news reports from the 1930s and 1940s, culled from the historic archives of The Blood-Horse magazine. Using firsthand accounts of Seabiscuit’s life and racing career—including his epic head-to-head victory against Triple Crown winner War Admiral—the book tells the amazing rags-to-riches story of this 1930s horse-racing phenomenon. It makes clear why Seabiscuit has been the subject of numerous books and films, including an adaptation of Laura Hillenbrand’s international bestseller that was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. This is you-are-there reporting that brings to life an American legend.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of the runaway phenomenon Unbroken comes a universal underdog story about the horse who came out of nowhere to become a legend. Seabiscuit was one of the most electrifying and popular attractions in sports history and the single biggest newsmaker in the world in 1938, receiving more coverage than FDR, Hitler, or Mussolini. But his success was a surprise to the racing establishment, which had written off the crooked-legged racehorse with the sad tail. Three men changed Seabiscuit’s fortunes: Charles Howard was a onetime bicycle repairman who introduced the automobile to the western United States and became an overnight millionaire. When he needed a trainer for his new racehorses, he hired Tom Smith, a mysterious mustang breaker from the Colorado plains. Smith urged Howard to buy Seabiscuit for a bargain-basement price, then hired as his jockey Red Pollard, a failed boxer who was blind in one eye, half-crippled, and prone to quoting passages from Ralph Waldo Emerson. Over four years, these unlikely partners survived a phenomenal run of bad fortune, conspiracy, and severe injury to transform Seabiscuit from a neurotic, pathologically indolent also-ran into an American sports icon. BONUS: This edition contains a Seabiscuit discussion guide and an excerpt from Unbroken. Praise for Seabiscuit “Fascinating . . . Vivid . . . A first-rate piece of storytelling, leaving us not only with a vivid portrait of a horse but a fascinating slice of American history as well.”—The New York Times “Engrossing . . . Fast-moving . . . More than just a horse’s tale, because the humans who owned, trained, and rode Seabiscuit are equally fascinating. . . . [Laura Hillenbrand] shows an extraordinary talent for describing a horse race so vividly that the reader feels like the rider.”—Sports Illustrated “REMARKABLE . . . MEMORABLE . . . JUST AS COMPELLING TODAY AS IT WAS IN 1938.”—The Washington Post

Docudramas, films and movies-of-the-week based on true stories, offer their audiences performance as persuasion. As docudramas re-create actual people and events, these works perform their material. The premises of docudramas’ persuasive arguments operate within the basic settings that stage performances of noteworthy events, the events of war, and the lives of noteworthy individuals. In performing the past, docudramas offer us a performance of memory. Through docudramatic performance, the memories of others become ours. The performance of memory roots docudramatic representation in actuality, and indicates the responsibility to serve the past that helps make docudrama a distinctive mode of representation. The spirit of obligation to the past also frames the ethical considerations docudrama raises, as performance in docudrama shapes public memory. Docudrama Performs the Past examines the spectrum of arguments docudramas offer as their re-creations reason from the arenas of events such as the hijacking of United Airlines Flight 93, wars ranging from World War II to Iraq, and the lives of actors, athletes, and politicians. The case studies developed in each chapter show how docudrama’s re-creation of “true stories,” its performance of memory, warrants the claims it forwards about how to remember the past. The aggregate of examining works made since the late 1990s allows us to see how, as recurring contexts, the arenas of docudramatic argument ground action and identity in the settings that frame performance, structure the moral value of the contestation that ensues, and shape the public memory of the past that docudramas perform.

Humans are unique among all other species in having one cognitive attribute-the ability, almost without conscious effort, to engage in blending. This is the first book that brings the theory of blending to a wide audience and shows how blending is at the heart of the origin of ideas.

For 40 years the most attended sport in New England was thoroughbred racing. Since1933 when pari-mutuel racing was legalized in the region after 300 years of puritanical opposition there were 16 tracks in operation in five New England states. Today there is only one track left and its barely surviving. The Pilgrims Would be Shocked: The History Of Thoroughbred Racing In New England traces the rise and near fall of the sport, beginning with its puritanical background when people were put in the stocks and fined by the Pilgrims for merely racing horses, with or without wagering. Finally, in 1906, a meet was run at Rockingham Park in Salem, New Hampshire which was financed by John Bet A Million Gates. His million dollar bet proved to be a loser as the track was quickly closed down by authorities because of gambling at the facility. Wagering had not been legalized by the state legislature and church leaders and others demanded it be stopped. In 1933, Lou Smith, an amazing immigrant son of impoverished Russian parents, came to the Granite State and, through his power of persuasion and political savvy, convinced the legislature during the hard economic times of the Depression to legalize pari-mutuel racing. The enabling legislation was passed and the first race meeting was an unqualified artistic and financial success, producing top quality racing, high employment and significant revenue to Salem and the state of New Hampshire. Seeing the tremendous success of New Hampshire, Rhode Island legalized the sport in 1934 and Massachusetts in 1935. The tracks produced significant tax revenues and employment for these states as well. For the next four decades the greatest horses (including three Triple Crown winner), jockeys, owners and trainers competed throughout New England, producing the highest caliber of racing. There was no shortage of incredible occurrences during that time, including the closing of Narragansett Park by the National Guard on orders of the Rhode Island governor, and a man who ran out in front of the horses at the finish of a stakes race at Suffolk Downs in East Boston. Beginning in the late 1970s the sport began its decline for a number of reasons. This book analyzes the factors contributing to its fall in popularity and possible solution to saving it from extinction.

The Jenny Craig Story chronicles how Jenny Craig, Inc., got its start in Australia with nine centers - and how, after Craig's return to America, the company flourished despite relentless competition. Page after page, the author shares her hard-won wisdom in all areas of her business - from hiring consultants for the weight-loss centers, to succession planning. You'll also see first-hand how Craig dealt with the numerous obstacles in her path, including lawsuits, stringent FTC guidelines, and her own serious illness.

"Looking for an entertaining book filled with the miscellany of the publishing world? Look no further! You'll find everything from the meager to the important in this book, part readers' advisory and part commentary on the world of books and literature, good and not so good." "Filled with humor and occasional defiance of the conventional, The Back Page delights readers with anecdotes, stories, quizzes (which are almost impossible to answer without cheating), and a host of insights into what makes books what they are - those wonderful and magical sources of great thoughts. A compendium of Bill Ott's Booklist column, published in the magazine since 1991, the volume includes essays about books and authors, genre fiction, life at Booklist, and much more." --Book Jacket.

While watching a movie, how many viewers notice some of the finer details of the film, such as the time of day during a scene—or even the date itself? For instance, does anyone remember what day detention is served by the high schoolers in The Breakfast Club or can guess when aliens first make their presence known in Independence Day? And perhaps only history buffs or fanatics of Leonardo DiCaprio can cite the exact date the Titanic sunk. In A Year of Movies: 365 Films to Watch on the Date They Happened Ivan Walters provides a selection for every day on the calendar in which at least some of the events in the film take place. For some films, the entire drama occurs on a very specific day. For other films, such as The Right Stuff, the date in question is represented in a key scene or two or even for just a few pivotal seconds. Certain films, to be sure, are obvious candidates for inclusion in this book. What other movie would make sense to watch on February 2nd than Groundhog Day? Is there a more appropriate film to consider for June 6th than The Longest Day? Representing a variety of genres—from comedies and dramas to westerns and film noir—these films offer fans a unique viewing opportunity. While helping viewers decide what to watch on a given day, this book will also introduce readers to films they may not have otherwise considered. Aimed at film buffs and casuals viewers alike, A Year of Movies is also an ideal resource for librarians who want to offer creative programming for their patrons.

Because of grace, good things happen even in the midst of a bad world. To the casual observer it may look like chance or luck. But to the person who knows Jesus, its undeniable that this undeserved goodness is nothing else but His grace.When Jesus walked on earth, He brought grace into every encounter, to every person. Even now, all around us, God is working out beautiful grace stories. Open the pages of this devotional book for a daily encounter with Jesus and His surprising, endless, life-changing grace.

Sports on Film takes readers behind the scenes of how movies get made and puts them in the stands for some of the key moments in sports in America. Sports on Film documents key events in American sports history through the films that depict them, starting with the integration of major-league baseball when Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Other significant events and personalities examined include the college basketball point-shaving incident of the 1950s; journalist George Plimpton's attempt to go through the Detroit Lions' NFL training camp in the early 1960s; the originations and popularity of rodeo; the brief run of women's professional baseball during World War II; the underdog racehorse Seabiscuit during the Great Depression; the rise of African American boxer Muhammad Ali; the unique 1970s "Battle of the Sexes" tennis event between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King; and Ford Motor Company's run in the 1960s to take motorsports to Europe's premier event in Le Mans, France.