"Thought-provoking…A lovely testament to horses and women from all walks of life." —Chicago Tribune In a phenomenon too prevalent to be mere chance, little girls all over the Western world wake one day to find themselves completely taken over by the love of all things equine. Melissa Holbrook Pierson was one of those horse-crazy girls who later returned to riding with a new appreciation for the nature of horses. Melding memoir, sociology, history, anecdote, and a bit of prose poetry, Dark Horses and Black Beauties delves beneath the shallow hypotheses explaining women's connection to horses to look at how this communication with another animal opens us up to a new apprehension of the larger "natural" world.

Melding memoir, sociology, history, anecdote, and a bit of prose poetry, "Dark Horses and Black Beauties" delves beneath shallow hypotheses to look at how this communication with horses opens women up to a new apprehension of the larger "natural" world. Illustrations.

Merritt Wenner has been self-destructing ever since the tragic deaths of her grandmother and her horse. After an epic all-night bender, she walks out of the SAT and disappears. Her parents, looking for a quick fix, ship her off to a residential equine-assisted therapy program. At Good Fences, Merritt meets Red: a failed racehorse and a terror in the barn. Red has never bonded with anyone, but Merritt is not afraid of him, which makes all the difference. Soon they're sneaking rides after curfew. Red's owner, recognising their potential, funds their launch into the hunter/jumper circuit.

This biography reveals the life of Anna Sewell - her experiences, her beliefs, and the sympathy with animals and their suffering that drove her to write her famous work, 'Black Beauty'.

"This book, a polished, winding meditation on the theory and fractiousness of motorcycles, celebrates both their eccentric history and the wary pleasures of touring."—The New Yorker In a book that is "a must for anyone who has loved a motorcycle" (Oliver Sacks), Melissa Pierson captures in vivid, writerly prose the mysterious attractions of motorcycling. She sifts through myth and hyperbole: misrepresentations about danger, about the type of people who ride and why they do so. The Perfect Vehicle is not a mere recitation of facts, nor is it a polemic or apologia. Its vivid historical accounts-the beginnings of the machine, the often hidden tradition of women who ride, the tale of the defiant ones who taunt death on the racetrack-are intertwined with Pierson's own story, which, in itself, shows that although you may think you know what kind of person rides a motorcycle, you probably don't.

A “sweeping and raw story of courage, resilience, and clear-eyed grace” (Sara Gruen, #1 New York Times bestselling author) about a teenage girl’s fierce struggle to reclaim her life from her abusive father in the vein of My Absolute Darling and Room. Fifteen-year-old equestrian prodigy Roan Montgomery has only ever known two worlds: inside the riding arena, and outside of it. Both, for as long as she can remember, have been ruled by her father, who demands strict obedience in all areas of her life. The warped power dynamic of coach and rider extends far beyond the stables, and Roan’s relationship with her father has long been inappropriate. She has been able to compartmentalize that dark aspect of her life, ruthlessly focusing on her ambitions as a rider heading for the Olympics, just as her father had done. However, her developing relationship with Will Howard, a boy her own age, broadens the scope of her vision. “[A] heart-pounding, can’t-take-your-eyes-off-it debut novel” (O, The Oprah Magazine), Dark Horses explores the themes of abuse and resilience in a way that will leave you transfixed. This is “a provoking and needed book” (Booklist, starred review).

“A wild, rollicking ride into the heart of horse country—these essays get at what it means to love horses, in all that love's complexity.” —Anton DiSclafani, author of The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls A compelling and provocative essay collection that smashes stereotypes and redefines the meaning of the term “horse girl,” broadening it for women of all cultural backgrounds. As a child, horses consumed Halimah Marcus’ imagination. When she wasn’t around horses she was pretending to be one, cantering on two legs, hands poised to hold invisible reins. To her classmates, girls like Halimah were known as “horse girls,” weird and overzealous, absent from the social worlds of their peers. Decades later, when memes about “horse girl energy,” began appearing across social media—Halimah reluctantly recognized herself. The jokes imagine girls as blinkered as carriage ponies, oblivious to the mockery behind their backs. The stereotypical horse girl is also white, thin, rich, and straight, a daughter of privilege. Yet so many riders don’t fit this narrow, damaging ideal, and relate to horses in profound ways that include ambivalence and regret, as well as unbridled passion and devotion. Featuring some of the most striking voices in contemporary literature—including Carmen Maria Machado, Pulitzer-prize winner Jane Smiley, T Kira Madden, Maggie Shipstead, and Courtney Maum—Horse Girls reframes the iconic bond between girls and horses with the complexity and nuance it deserves. And it showcases powerful emerging voices like Braudie Blais-Billie, on the connection between her Seminole and Quebecois heritage; Sarah Enelow-Snyder, on growing up as a Black barrel racer in central Texas; and Nur Nasreen Ibrahim, on the colonialist influence on horse culture in Pakistan. By turns thought-provoking and personal, Horse Girls reclaims its titular stereotype to ask bold questions about autonomy and desire, privilege and ambition, identity and freedom, and the competing forces of domestication and wildness.

This powerful narrative, told from the perspective of a horse, is now available in an unabridged, illustrated cloth hardcover edition in Union Square and Co.’s Children's Signature Clothbound Classics series. Despite Black Beauty being her only published work, Anna Sewell is widely regarded as one of the most successful children's novelists from England. Black Beauty chronicles the life of a horse in Victorian England. At the hands of different owners, he experiences discipline, friendship, overwork, and, ultimately, love. Young readers will be moved by this empathetic novel about animal treatment—a story that’s still relevant even today.

SOUTH-OF-THE-BORDER SHOWDOWN Trouble follows horse trader Will Summers as soon as he sets foot in Dark Horses, Mexico. A party of men is intent on hanging Summers, believing him to be a horse thief, but not before they take him to their boss—Ansil Swann, the very man Summers is delivering four horses to. Will is saved from the hangman’s noose when the men are waylaid by Ansil’s beautiful wife, Bailey. Only Bailey has an agenda of her own, one that lands Will right in the middle of a deadly shootout. Now, in a lawless land where anything goes, Will’s gunslinging skills are put to the test—and if he’s not careful, he may never make it back across the border alive….

From his first time riding as a child, William Shatner has felt a deep love for horses. Whether seated in the saddle, communicating with them, or simply appreciating their beauty, his bond with these majestic animals is deep. For decades he has sought to share his joy—with children, veterans, those with disabilities, and many more—through his annual Hollywood Charity Horse Show. And here, he brings that same joy to his fans and readers. In Spirit of the Horse, the Star Trek and Boston Legal legend speaks from the heart about the remarkable effect horses have had on his life and on the lives of others. From his first horse, bought impulsively on the advice of a twelve-year-old, to his favorite horses, acquired after many years of learning what to look for, this book draws from Shatner’s own experience and pairs it with a wealth of classic horse stories, including unique retellings of the Pegasus myth and the feats of the most famous war horses throughout history. The result is a celebration that captures the unparalleled connection between humans and horses—and the power, courage, mindfulness, and healing that they can inspire in us. Many fans have heard about Shatner’s passion for horses; few have seen it revealed as completely as it is here.