About the author
Ralph Moody (1898–1982) was born in New Hampshire; the family moved to Colorado when he was eight in the hope that the drier climate would help his father’s tuberculosis. Unfortunately his father died when Ralph was eleven, leaving him as the head of the house. He and his sister worked to help his mother, but Ralph found it difficult to adjust as the family moved about, and after some brushes with the law, spent some time living on his grandfather’s farm in Maine. He did several jobs to keep himself afloat, including doing stunt falls for the movies. He continued sending money back to his family. His education being limited, it took him a while to start writing, but he was keen on self education, and after taking a writing course, started to write at the age of 50. He wrote 17 books: western novels and autobiographies, and the story of the famous racehorse, Seabiscuit.
Finding the book
Very easy to find.
Links and sources
Terri Wear: Horse Stories: An Annotated Bibliography
Thanks to Lisa Catz for the photograph and summary
Bibliography (horse book only)
Come on, Seabiscuit
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1963, 172 pp, illus Robert Riger
Barnes & Noble Books, New York, 2001
University of Nebraska Press, 2003
The story of Seabiscuit, from the night of his birth at Claiborne Farm. Normally there is greatjoy when a colt is born in a very distinguished line of thoroughbreds. But the night that Seabiscuit was born, there was no rejoicing. A grandson of Man o’ War, there had been great hopes for him, but he was passed off as a runt, with a head too big, legs too short, and knees too knobby. He was the ugly duckling, and as a yearling was hidden away in a back barn. But Seabiscuit did not know the meaning of discouragement, and went on to become a beloved hero of his country.
