Seabiscuit: An American Legend has sold more than three million copies and topped the New York Times bestseller list for forty-two weeks. In addition, the book won a variety of awards, and was a finalist for the coveted National Book Critics Circle award. The book was also named one of the best of 2001 by National Public Radio, the Washington Post, Time magazine, and Amazon.com, among others.

Critical appraisal could find little wrong with Hillenbrand's first book-length effort. Patsy Gray, writing in Library Journal, writes, "This story of trust, optimism, and perseverance in overcoming obstacles will appeal to many readers." Todd McCarthy of Variety contends that part of the work's allure is due to the horse being "a commoner among racing's royalty, which ultimately became the source of his mass appeal." A reviewer for Publishers Weekly called the work a "captivating account of one of the...