Race Horse Men recaptures the vivid sights; sensations; and illusions of nineteenth-century thoroughbred racing; America's first mass spectator sport. Inviting readers into the pageantry of the racetrack; Katherine C. Mooney conveys the sport's inherent drama while also revealing the significant intersections between horse racing and another quintessential institution of the antebellum South: slavery.A popular pastime across American society; horse racing was most closely identified with an elite class of southern owners who bred horses and bet large sums of money on these spirited animals. The central characters in this story are not privileged whites; however; but the black jockeys; grooms; and horse trainers who sometimes called themselves race horse men and who made the racetrack run. Mooney describes a world of patriarchal privilege and social prestige where blacks as well as whites could achieve status and recognition and where favored slaves endured an unusual form of bondage. For wealthy white men; the racetrack illustrated their cherished visions of a harmonious; modern society based on human slavery.After emancipation; a number of black horsemen went on to become sports celebrities; their success a potential threat to white supremacy and a source of pride for African Americans. The rise of Jim Crow in the early twentieth century drove many horsemen from their jobs; with devastating consequences for them and their families. Mooney illuminates the role these too-often-forgotten men played in Americans' continuing struggle to define the meaning of freedom.
#1852996 in Books Harvard University Press 2005-11-30Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 1.26 x 5.88 x 8.42l; #File Name: 067401913X352 pages
Review
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful. Brilliant and OriginalBy Lawrence J. EpsteinThis is a brilliant; bold; and original interpretation of Yiddish-speaking socialists and their origins less in Russian-Jewish radicalism and more in German-American socialism. The author's consistently lucid prose takes readers back to a fascinating time in American and Jewish life.2 of 13 people found the following review helpful. Communism Burning Bright In New YorkBy john thames"A Fire in Their Hearts" is a well researched book that tells the story of the Jewish Communists of New York City who laid the foundations for so much of the socialist restructuring of American society. One of Michels more remarkable contentions is his claim that it was the Yiddish socialists who exported Communism back to Russia; not the reverse. If this is true; then the Czarist goverment may have had good cause to object to "American" Jews proselytizing revolution in their land using U.S. passports. That the Jews were the driving force behind Communism/Socaialism generally is not something Michels denies - rather; he revels in it. This book shows quite clearly what a mistake Americans made letting Jews into America. They have paid the price ever since.0 of 32 people found the following review helpful. nudnickBy 100%VERY MEDIOCRE AND TOO SENTIMENTAL. HE DOES NOT ASK THE HARD QUESTION: WHY DID JEWS EVOLVE FROM SOCIALISM AS A KIND OF RELIGION TO NEOCONS. HE FAILS TO DIFFERENTIATE YIDDISH SOCIALISTS; WHO WERE NOT BRIGHT PEOPLE; FROM REAL YIDDISH INTELLECTUALS WHO HAD THEIR OWN WORLD; WERE QUITE URBANE AND KNEW ABOUT OTHER CURRENTS OF THOUGHT; AND A MUCH KEENER KNOWLEDGE OF YIDDISH.COMPARED TO YURI SLEZKINE'S SUPERB "THE JEWISH CENTURY;" THIS IS QUITE UNIMPRESSIVE.
