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50th out of 79 books
—
7 voters
Blood Horses: Notes of a Sportswriter's Son
One evening late in his life, veteran sportswriter Mike Sullivan was asked by his son what he remembered best from his three decades in the press box. The answer came as a surprise. "I was at Secretariat's Derby, in '73. That was . . . just beauty, you know?"
Sullivan didn't know, not really: the track had always been a place his father disappeared to once a year on busine...more
Sullivan didn't know, not really: the track had always been a place his father disappeared to once a year on busine...more
Hardcover, 261 pages
Published
April 1st 2004
by Farrar Straus Giroux
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Aug 25, 2012
Ms.pegasus
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
horse-lovers; fans of Bill Nack
Recommended to Ms.pegasus by:
a review of the author's latest book in the Economist
The author is the son of the late sportswriter, Mike Sullivan, of the Kentucky Courier Journal. BLOOD HORSES, is a uniquely conceived memoir. It is an intense, free-form chronicle of his search for connection to his father. What does this have to do with horses? In that uncertain but hopeful period after a serious operation, Mike shares a memory with his son. His career had spanned the brash conquests of Muhammed Ali, and the stellar ascent of Michael Jordan. The sport he loved was baseball. But...more
Jan 20, 2010
April WW
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommended to April by:
powell's daily dose
Shelves:
2010
I learned that I think John Jeremiah Sullivan is a great writer! He apparently writes or wrote for GQ, which I don't have much occasion to read, so I've never read anything else but if this book is any indication of his work, I'm a fan.
Stylistically, I did find the organization of it a bit odd at first until I realized it read like a giant magazine article. The book jumps around a bit abruptly and each little section starts under its own headline, which I found a bit jarring until I caught the r...more
Stylistically, I did find the organization of it a bit odd at first until I realized it read like a giant magazine article. The book jumps around a bit abruptly and each little section starts under its own headline, which I found a bit jarring until I caught the r...more
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As a 30-something expatriated Kentuckian, my shared background with the author strongly biased my reading of BLOOD HORSES. Nonetheless, I will recommend this book to anyone, especially people who like PULPHEAD. Despite being a memoir seemingly devoted to Sullivan's late father, the book lacks the solipsistic sentimentality that plagues most memoirs. Who would normally be interested in a son's memories of his Louisville-Redbirds-beat-reporter father? Yet, this book is fascinating. It takes a lot...more
If you are interested in horse racing (as I am) you will enjoy this book. It gives a great background on the horse throughout history, which is based on what seems to be exhaustive research. At times I found myself confused as to where the book was headed; sometimes it was about the history of the horse, other times about horse racing, and still at other times a chronicle of a man and his somewhat absent sportswriting father. It did however all come together in the end in a very satisfying book....more
1 like · like · see review
Excellent non-fiction book that is about many things at once - the writer's tribute to his sportswriter father and his father's own remembrances of the great Secretariat, a history of the Kentucky horse racing industry, an account of War Emblem's attempt to win the 2002 Triple Crown, a survey of the horse in literature, and finally (and mostly) an examination of man's relationship with the horse throughout history.
Beautifully written and as an Amazon reviewer noted, reminiscent of the style of...more
Beautifully written and as an Amazon reviewer noted, reminiscent of the style of...more
Words fail me. This book explores many themes - death, remembrance, and grief central among them, as Sullivan recalls his father - but it does so as it faithfully follows the horse through history, its stints as food, idol, instrument of war, and finally the precious blood horses, bred first by Bedouins and later by Englishman to be fast and beautiful and very little else. I have never read a book which describes Thoroughbreds with such a lyrical touch. I loved every page.
Due to the anxiety my ever growing to-read list produces I rarely reread books. When I have, it's either something I read a long time ago (like Hemingway or Steinbeck from middle school) or skimming passages of something I read in the last year or so. I read Blood Horses when it came out in 2004 and loved it. I'd never read anything quite like it: it's strange associative collaging of found texts, memoir, history, photography really excited me b/c I felt like I was reading something unlike anyth...more
Sullivan is a capable, passionate author, and once I got a grip on his disjointed narrative chapters I was completely swept away. Blood Horses was riveting, but I don't think I'll feel the need to read it a second time.
Recommended to any with interest in thoroughbred racing, or with interest in father-and-son dynamics. Three and half stars, rounded up to four.
Recommended to any with interest in thoroughbred racing, or with interest in father-and-son dynamics. Three and half stars, rounded up to four.
Seven years ago, John Jeremiah Sullivan published an essay in Harper's magazine called "Horseman, Pass By: Glory, Grief, and the Race for the Triple Crown." I like horses, and I like essays, so I read it. It turned out to be one of the loveliest essays I'd ever read. I photocopied it and forced friends to read it. A tiny footnote published with the essay said that John Jeremiah Sullivan was "writing a book about fathers and horses." A book-long version of the 18-page article I had adored! Althou...more
1 like · like · see review
I really enjoyed this book...I owned a Thoroughbred many years ago, who bowed a tendon at the track. I knew some Thoroughbred owners and trainers and breeders. I saw Secretariat win all three races of the Triple Crown. I don't like the sport now because I know too much. I lived a similar experience when the author's father dies and he doesn't really get it until his dog dies a year later. And I loved the ending of the book.
With some limits to equestrian experience did not expect to enjoy as much as I did. Intriguing appreciation of strength and beauty of horses in relation to lives of us awkward humans.
I could write: "Now this is how you write a memoir."
Or:
I could write: "Now this is how you write a sports book."
Either way: highly recommended.
Or:
I could write: "Now this is how you write a sports book."
Either way: highly recommended.
This is my favorite type of writing, part-memoir and part-research. I learned so much about horses/this guy's dad. Both fascinating.
100% amazing. Loved it just as much as Pulphead. Wish Sullivan had more material out there so I could go on a reading binge.
I mean always a winner with J.J. Sullivan.
Good book.
Moments of beauty and heartbreaking clarity. Would have given more stars if the subject matter had captivated me more.
I heart him. And this. It seems so sprawling as you read, so meandering, but it always comes back to some cohesive central point. Having never thought much about horses or sports or sports writing, I must commend JS on writing a book about those (or ostensibly about those) that more than keeps my attention. I like the organization with sections of different lengths.
A most amazing and brilliant work. I was totally surprised. The first half of Pulpheads prepared me for the reading of this masterpiece. Thank goodness my stubborn refusal to have a try at it did not prevail and a brighter mind prevailed. My total review is here:
http://msarki.tumblr.com/post/5163444...
http://msarki.tumblr.com/post/5163444...
A truly remarkable and strange book that is as much about family, sports, and writing as it is about horses.
I read this a while ago, but I just thought I should add it here. I'm always on the lookout for new articles by JJS in GQ, but I rarely see his byline these days.
I read this a while ago, but I just thought I should add it here. I'm always on the lookout for new articles by JJS in GQ, but I rarely see his byline these days.
i'm biased but this is still amazing.
Jun 15, 2013
Wendy Dunstan
marked it as to-read
Jun 08, 2013
Alex Blott
marked it as to-read
Jun 05, 2013
Pamela
marked it as to-read
May 20, 2013
Mshaleyanne
is currently reading it
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John Jeremiah Sullivan is an American writer and editor. He is a contributing writer to The New York Times Magazine, a contributing editor of Harper's Magazine, and southern editor of The Paris Review.
Sullivan's first book, Blood Horses: Notes of a Sportswriter's Son, was published in 2004. It is part personal reminiscence, part elegy for his father, and part investigation into the history and cul...more
More about John Jeremiah Sullivan...
Sullivan's first book, Blood Horses: Notes of a Sportswriter's Son, was published in 2004. It is part personal reminiscence, part elegy for his father, and part investigation into the history and cul...more
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“Century after century, we have prosecuted our insane conflicts from atop their backs, resting on their sturdy necks when we grew weary, eating their flesh when we were starving, disemboweling them and crawling inside their bodies when we were freezing.”
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