Overview

The Great Match Race is a captivating account of America's first sports spectacle, a horse race that pitted North against South in three grueling heats. On a bright afternoon in May 1823, an unprecedented sixty thousand people showed up to watch two horses run the equivalent of nine Kentucky Derbys in a few hours' time. Eclipse was the majestic champion representing the North, and Henry, an equine arriviste, was the pride of the South. Their match race would come to represent a watershed moment in American history, crystallizing the differences that so fundamentally divided the country. The renowned sportswriter John Eisenberg captures all the pulse-pounding drama and behind-the-scenes tensions in a page-turning mix of history, horse racing, and pure entertainment.

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9780618872114

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Reviews

"""Eisenberg tells the stories of the two great horses and their human connection with a novelist's dramatic flair..."" Booklist, ALA, Starred Review ""Eisenberg succeeds in creating a gripping yarn of sporting contest..."" Publishers Weekly ""...surely the most entertaining book of sports history ever written...It's a grand and glorious story..."" -- Frank Deford ""Now the definitive account of a stupendous event that was a preview of modern American sports..."" -- Ed Hotaling, author of Wink, The Great Black Jockeys, and They're Off! Horse Racing at Saratoga ""An extraordinary account of America's first major sports spectacle..."" -- Joe Hirsch, Daily Racing Form ""Eisenberg's masterfully woven narrative...is as important today as it was two centuries ago."" Mim Eichler-Rivas, author of Beautiful Jim Key: The Lost History of a Horse and a Man Who Changed the World Eisenberg's melding of history and sports journalism is altogether superb. Kirkus Reviews, Starred ""Let's get right to the point: This is a lead-pipe cinch, mortal lock, lay-your money-down sure thing of a book."" The Baltimore Sun ""Eisenberg expertly captures the passions in his telling of the contest. . .the pages flip by faster than jockey colors."" The Chicago Tribune --"

Now the definitive account of a stupendous event that was a preview of modern American sports... -- Ed Hotaling, author of Wink, The Great Black Jockeys, and They're Off! Horse Racing at Saratoga

Eisenberg's masterfully woven narrative...is as important today as it was two centuries ago. Mim Eichler-Rivas, author of Beautiful Jim Key: The Lost History of a Horse and a Man Who Changed the World Eisenberg succeeds in creating a gripping yarn of sporting contest... An extraordinary account of America's first major sports spectacle... -- Joe Hirsch, Daily Racing Form Let's get right to the point: This is a lead-pipe cinch, mortal lock, lay-your money-down sure thing of a book. Eisenberg tells the stories of the two great horses and their human connection with a novelist's dramatic flair... Eisenberg expertly captures the passions in his telling of the contest. . .the pages flip by faster than jockey colors. ... surely the most entertaining book of sports history ever written...It's a grand and glorious story... -- Frank Deford Now the definitive account of a stupendous event that was a preview of modern American sports... -- Ed Hotaling, author of Wink, The Great Black Jockeys, and They're Off! Horse Racing at Saratoga

Eisenberg's masterfully woven narrative...is as important today as it was two centuries ago. Mim Eichler-Rivas, author of Beautiful Jim Key: The Lost History of a Horse and a Man Who Changed the World An extraordinary account of America's first major sports spectacle... -- Joe Hirsch, Daily Racing Form Let's get right to the point: This is a lead-pipe cinch, mortal lock, lay-your money-down sure thing of a book. Eisenberg tells the stories of the two great horses and their human connection with a novelist's dramatic flair... Eisenberg expertly captures the passions in his telling of the contest. . .the pages flip by faster than jockey colors. ... surely the most entertaining book of sports history ever written...It's a grand and glorious story... -- Frank Deford Now the definitive account of a stupendous event that was a preview of modern American sports... -- Ed Hotaling, author of Wink, The Great Black Jockeys, and They're Off! Horse Racing at Saratoga Eisenberg succeeds in creating a gripping yarn of sporting contest...

Author Information

JOHN EISENBERG was an award-winning sports columnist for the Baltimore Sun for two decades and is the author of Ten-Gallon War, That First Season, My Guy Barbaro (cowritten with jockey Edgar Prado), and The Great Match Race. He has written for Smithsonian, Sports Illustrated, and Details, among other publications, and currently contributes columns to BaltimoreRavens.com. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

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