Laughing in the Hills (A Hungry Mind Find)

This guy is a very honest type of writer who sets aside his ego to get at the truth.

The book tells the story of the author's attempt to make a go of professional handicapping, but he spends a lot of time on the backstretch getting to know the people and the horses.

There is the backstretch as your trainer describes it to you ("well-oiled machine operating at peak efficiency"), and the backstretch as Barich paints it (loosely collected ragtag assortment of people and horses trying to stay afloat). Even though luck is hard to come by for many of the characters in the book, they have an earnest dignity as Bill Barich depicts them, and love and respect for the animals is predominant.

If you like racing you will like this book; if you don't like racing or are indifferent to it, you will probably like the book anyway.

This unusual and beautifully written work gets right to the heart of its topics. OK, I happen to love racing and fine horses, appreciate Florentine art and culture, and enjoy fly fishing, but I believe "Laughing in the Hills" would appeal to all who enjoy good writing. I have read this book a few times since first discovering it, and have shared it with friends as well.

After I read Barich's New Yorker essay "At the Fountain," I (A) gave a copy to every one of my friends, and (B) pilgramiged to read and know the other published work of this amazing author.
'Laughing in the Hills' could have been about how beans are canned, and it would still be a classic. This book is in a class with the best of Constantine, Auster, and Hardy - and they should consider THEMselves lucky to be compared with Barich.

Probably the most intelligent, well written book ever published on horse racing. To call it a "sports book" or even a racing book really misses the mark, for it certainly transcends that topic-while it includes gritty and and closely observed descriptions of track life, Barich ultimately portrays racing as a kind of metaphor for life. His unique insights and voice as a writer elevate this gem into the stratosphere of contemporary literature.

I'm not even finished with this book yet, but I got online to see what kind of response it has received. I'm staggered to see it is not ranked higher and had only a few reviews.

This is one of those books where every page brings insights so painful, or so beautiful, I shake my head in amazement. I'm reading it slowly, lovingly, and I'll tell all my friends about it.

I'm a writer, and have written a novel about horse racing. I've explored this same territory. I almost wish I'd written this book. It is filled with truth and sadness and many, many fine portraits of the people that hang around on the backside of the track.