Native Dancer

April 28, 2003
With an introduction that compares 1950s racehorse Native Dancer with Elvis and Milton Berle, Eisenberg puts a great deal of pressure on his volume to convince readers these comparisons are viable. Thankfully, in most cases, the book and author live up to the challenge. Alternating between captivating retellings of Dancer's come-from-behind racing style (the account of Dancer's rally from 10 lengths down in 1954's Metropolitan is stunning) and a detailed account of how TV catapulted horse racing to the top of America's sports scene, Eisenberg's evenhanded writing style makes it easy to see how Dancer captivated Americans from coast-to-coast. Like the horse's popularity, Dancer's diverse race team—a Vanderbilt owner, a Cajun high school dropout rider, a folksy black groom—personified a cross-section of American society and helped make Dancer as American as the glamorous Elvis or the comforting Berle. If there is a hitch in this book's giddap, it is its focus on the controversial 1953 Kentucky Derby, which, though covered engagingly, occurred in the middle of Dancer's career, forcing the book to a premature climax. But that fault belongs to real-life timing, not Eisenberg, whose thorough research, historical analysis and old-fashioned horse sense bring to life an American hero whose nickname, the "Grey Ghost," should be as remembered as those of the King and Uncle Miltie—if not Seabiscuit. Illus. not seen by PW. (May)Forecast:Unlike some other recently published titles, this one has a good chance to reach the
Seabiscuit audience—and Warner would do well to publicize Native Dancer's name in time for the Triple Crown, with which the book's publication coincides.

May 15, 2003
A number of recent books have tried to follow in the remarkable hoofprints of Laura Hillenbrand's " Seabiscuit," hoping to share a measure of that best-seller's phenomenal success. This one actually merits the comparison. Native Dancer's story lacks the drama of Seabiscuit's rags-to-riches tale. He was a regally bred colt owned by one of America's richest aristocrats, and he was never an underdog through his 22-race career from 1952 through 1954. Native Dancer was nevertheless a great horse, and he captured the country's imagination much as Seabiscuit had done in the late 1930s, employing an indomitable will and a devastating stretch kick to win 21 races, with his only loss coming by a heartbreaking nose in the 1953 Kentucky Derby. His fame was amplified by the popularization of television and his gray coat, which made him easy to find on the black and white screens, to the degree that " TV Guide "named Native Dancer, along with Ed Sullivan and Arthur Godfrey, as the nation's biggest television star of 1953. Eisenberg's research into the lives of Native Dancer, owner Alfred Vanderbilt, trainer Bill Winfrey, and jockey Eric Guerin is exhaustive, and he tells their stories with skill and understanding. If the stories aren't quite as compelling as those of Seabiscuit and his connections, they can still be read with a great deal of pleasure.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)