Great story, bad narrator

I enjoyed this story, but I should have read it. The slow, monotonous reader almost ruined it. I strongly suggest the author have another reader replace the audible version.

11 people found this helpful

An Absorbing history

Letts covers two stories in this book. One is the commonly known story of the rescue of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna and their famous Lipizzaner stallions led by Alois Podhajsky. Podhajsky won the bronze medal in Dressage at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Near the end of the war the American Army heard from a German spy about the location of the horses. The Russian Army was closing on the location; the Russian soldiers were starving and the fear was they would slaughter the animals for food. General George Patton, a great horseman, ordered Major Hank Reed of the 2nd Calvary to rescue the horses.

The second section is less known about Hitler and Gustav Rau and the eugenics program to genetically engineer the perfect German War Horse. Germany had stockpiled the world’s largest collection of purebred horses from famous Polish, Russian, German, English, Irish, and Dutch horses to the rare Arabian horses from the Ottoman Turk Empire whose blood lines go back to the 17th Century. Unfortunately, in 1917 the Bolsheviks had purposefully slaughtered many of these rare Arabians as symbols of the pampered rich. Gastov Rau first had the breeding farm at the Janow Stud Farm in Poland then had to move it to Hastau, Czechoslovakia in 1942. In 1944, it was moved to St. Martin, Austria. After being rescued many of the horses came to the United States but unfortunately these famous and rare purebreds were sold off by the Army. Also included were many of the European greatest Thoroughbred racehorses; unfortunately, the American racehorse registry refused to accept their registry papers and these champion horses were sold as pets.

The book is about thirteen hours long. Paul Boehmer does a great job narrating the book. Boehmer is a classical trained actor and award-winning audiobook narrator.

22 people found this helpful

Good history/horse story

Where does The Perfect Horse rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Gee, I've listened to so many over the years! This book is definitely in my top 20% and since I rarely listen to history books, I'd rate it as in the top 10% among nonfiction books.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Perfect Horse?

The race in the middle of the night, with Lessing and Stewart one on a black and one white horse was described perfectly.

Which scene was your favorite?

As a horse person, I really enjoyed several of the descriptions of being around horses. There was one description about Hank Reed's familiarity of those things any horse person knows - the rhythm of a horse's gait, the scent of fresh straw and "what the end of a day on horseback felt like, salty with sweat, dirt under his nails, and a mind white-washed on worry".

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I am always drawn to people who understand that the animals of this world are worth saving.

Any additional comments?

This is an excellent book for horse lovers who are not regular history readers. Instead of just dates and battles, Letts educates her readers about the people and places in this book. Not as good as In the Company of Elephants, but still quite good.

6 people found this helpful

Innocents Caught in the Slaughter of War

I was really worried when I saw that Paul Boehmer was narrating this as his tone and delivery in past books had me thinking the man was just plain odd. But I was surprised, relieved, delighted when I listened to "The Perfect Horse." He did just fine, obviously enjoyed the story, was familiar with the text, and delivered the characters, humans and horses alike, with love and sincerity.
This is not only the story of the rescue and escape of the horses. This isn't, "The Monuments Men... with Horses." It starts earlier, follows the players far into the aftermath of the war.
And it ain't all wine and roses once the shooting's over.
The story is one of heroism, tragedy, sacrifice. There are air raids, bombed out cattle cars of horses and refugees, starvation, brutality. There is neglect, lack of oversight, more suffering during peace time. But mostly, there is friendship and honest devotion.
Sometimes the writing is so elegant that you're not quite immersed in the action, and sometimes Letts chooses to say simply, "There was a faux firefight," rather than write the action, which could have been riveting, or funny. Still, that's a minor, minor flaw in the writing. Other than that, it's quite good. There is one horse in particular, that you'll fall in love with.
While there is a bit of drag leading to the closing act, imagine this. While I walked in the middle of a wretched heat-drenched Central Texas summer, listening to what happened to all the people, places, horses?
I got chills. It was mesmerizing. It was delicious.

23 people found this helpful

Great Story Ruined by Narrator

Any additional comments?

I have been a horse lover all of my life. I still remember with great fondness the Marguerite Henry books I read as a child, particularly the "White Stallion of Lippizza". I was excited to read a nonfiction account of what actually happened to the Lippizaner horses during WWII but found myself mostly irritated with the narration of the book. If I had wanted a lesson in German phonetics I would have bought Rosetta Stone instead. I somehow managed to finish the book but I will never listen to another book narrated by Paul Boehmer.

3 people found this helpful

The Perfect Horse

The Perfect Horse is a true story. During WWII the Lipizzaner stallions of Austria were rescued by George S. Patton and placed under the protection of the American Army. This is their story through the retirement of some war horses and their riders and handlers through the mid 2000s. You’ll read about the animals subjected to allied bombing, slaughter, the heroism of Alois Podhajsky, director of the famed Spanish Riding School of Vienna, a former Olympic equestrian Bronze medalist. He was cheated out of Gold by a judge scratching out and lowering his score at the Berlin games of 1936. Two Germans won Gold and Silver, no surprise there.

Go to YouTube for viewing of the Lipizzaner moves, i.e., airs above the ground, dancing in place, and some fancy words that remind you of ballet moves. There are some good videos that will give much more depth to your understanding of this beautiful horse and the book itself.

The fundamentals are on the dry side, but factual. The Perfect Horse is a history book with a few hair-raising instances during the heat of WWII. Very educational. For example, the horses are not mistreated, and never have been. Their amazing moves are accomplished with loving hands and horse whispering. Learned that George S. Patton was an Olympian (he did not medal) – had no idea. The German obsession with creating the “perfect” Arian race was mirrored by one German individual who wanted to create the “perfect” German war horse, using the same horrible methods. Alois Podhajsky protected his animals from this fate with the help of others who resisted.

No issues with narration. In that I do not speak German, I can’t comment on pronunciation of some German names/words. All sounded fine to me.

The Perfect Horse is narrated Paul Boehmer, about 13 hours of listening in unabridged audiobook format. Release in August of 2016 by Random House Audio.

If you have any interest in the true history of the Lipizzaner stallion, highly recommended.

2 people found this helpful

Excellent historic information on the war.

My mother (age 85) was enthralled, listening for days, about these precious horses during the war. Recommend for history lovers!

5 people found this helpful

Excellent story, irritating narration

I loved the story. I am an avid equestrian and for years I have wanted to know the details of how Patton's men saved the Lipizzaners during WWII. The story is fascinating and the writing has moments of true beauty. The author weaves disparate strands of seemingly unrelated topics into a tapestry that contains rich elements of setting and characterization. The reader begins to understand the art of classical riding, social Darwinism as applied by the Third Reich, and even the complexities of horse breeding.

The narrator, on the other hand, so faithfully reproduces German pronunciation of words that at times it sounded like the SNL spoof of news anchorpersons saying Spanish place names like a native.

2 people found this helpful

Way too much detail

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would only recommend it if the person was very interested in horses. There is a lot of detail in the book that is only meaningful to a "horse person."

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The most interesting is the main theme: the danger into which the Lippizaners were put during WWII. The least interesting is the overwhelming detail of every single character in the book. Do we really need to know which high school a minor character went to?

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I found the narrator's "German" pronunciation of names irritating. I'm sure he felt it added authenticity but to hear "Rrrrrodolfo Lessing" and similar names over and over grated.

Do you think The Perfect Horse needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No, the story was complete up to present day.

Any additional comments?

This book REALLY slowed down in the middle. I wouldn't have kept going except I had bought a copy as a gift for a "horsey" friend & I wanted to be able to discuss it with her. It picked up again as WWII was winding down.
If there is an abridged version available, buy that. There was WAY too much minutiae in this book.

4 people found this helpful

Wonderful, breathtaking, and educational!

My favorite audible book so far....I want to purchase the actual book for my large equine book library. I am reminded how lucky I am to have housing and food. My dad is buried at Fort Riley and brought back memories of the military base. I had a hard time pausing the book to go to sleep and then to work. Highly recommend to lovers of animals and history.

1 person found this helpful