For racing buffs really

"bio"

Full of facts but mostly a race by race, jump by jump account of each of his victories and some of his losses. You have to love and have great interest in steeple chasing to enjoy this book.

By the time I got to the Francis autobiography The Sport of Queens, his first book, I was a huge Dick Francis fan and found his first person protagonists so fascinating that I couldn't wait to find out what the man was really like. Unfortunately, The Sport of Queens didn't tell me much about him at all. The man just doesn't like to talk about himself. If you're interested in Francis himself, you can learn a lot more about him from his mysteries.

He had a job I would've adored -- horse trainer and steeplechase jockey and rode for the Queen of England. Cool!

Wouldn't mind reading more of the author.

After reading all or nearly all of Dick Francis' novels, imagine my excitement at coming across this 1957 gem at a used book store. For people unfamiliar with Francis' work, this author of more than 30 novels had a first, very successful, career as a jump jockey in England. This book, which launched his career as a writer, tells of how he very nearly won the Grand National. Readers of his novels will marvel at how much of himself he puts into his characters.

I usually really enjoy Dick Francis writing but this one was a little too technical for me in spots but by the middle of the book I was really starting to enjoy it. I will continue to read his thrillers as that is where I think he really shines.

Read it because I like him as an author, but this wasn't the same. Of course maybe I shouldn't have expected it to be

I've enjoyed the mysteries he's written and here is a chance to know more about him personally. He writes about his childhood, his learning to ride and then experiences as a jockey. I knew he'd ridden but didn't know all he'd accomplished. Then, once he left racing, how he actually began writing. For me some of the sections about the courses and the routine were a bit tedious but still interesting. Overall an interesting read.

His books have been abridged and digested--I love it! Reader's Digest Condensed Books are how I discovered Dick Francis.

It is amazing to think that someone so brillant, who writes such amazing stories, could have produced this book. It was basically a list of all the horses he rode and all the racecourses. And how different weather conditions affected each different track and each horse. I was disappointed because one just knows that he's had an exciting life, but it just doesn't come across in this book.

This book is roughly half autobiography and half general information on horse racing. I found parts of it interesting and parts boring, and I expect others will, too, but probably which parts are interesting or dull will vary from person to person. The book covers everything I would want and expect to be covered without getting bogged down in details. The afterword, which covers Francis' life as a writer, is quite short. As that is the part of his life which I have seen the fruits of, I was hoping for more, but still, what little is there is informative enough not to be disappointing.