Out of the Clouds

By: Linda Carroll, David Rosner

Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins

In the best-selling tradition of the The Eighty-Dollar Champion, the propulsive, inspiring Cinderella story of Stymie, an unwanted Thoroughbred, and Hirsch Jacobs, the once dirt-poor trainer who bought the colt on the cheap and molded him into the most popular horse of his time and the richest racehorse the world had ever seen.

In the wake of World War II, as turmoil and chaos were giving way to a spirit of optimism, Americans were looking for inspiration and role models showing that it was possible to start from the bottom and work your way up to the top—and they found it in Stymie, the failed racehorse plucked from the discard heap by trainer Hirsch Jacobs. Like Stymie, Jacobs was a commoner in "The Sport of Kings", a dirt-poor Brooklyn city slicker who forged an unlikely career as racing's winningest trainer by buying cheap, unsound nags and magically transforming them into winners. The $1,500 pittance Jacobs paid to claim Stymie became history's biggest bargain as the ultimate iron horse went on to run a whopping 131 races and win 25 stakes, becoming the first Thoroughbred ever to earn more than $900,000. The Cinderella champion nicknamed "The People's Horse" captivated the masses with his rousing charge—from-behind stretch runs, his gritty blue-collar work ethic, and his rags-to-riches success story. In a golden age when horse racing rivaled baseball and boxing as America's most popular pastime, he was every bit as inspiring a sports hero as Joe DiMaggio and Joe Louis.

Taking listeners on a crowd-pleasing ride with Stymie and Jacobs, Out of the Clouds—the winner of the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award—unwinds a real-life Horatio Alger tale of a dauntless team and its working-class fans who lived vicariously through the stouthearted little colt they embraced as their own.

©2018 Linda Carroll and David Rosner (P)2018 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Out of the Clouds is more than the story of a single horse, a single trainer, and their unlikely rise. The whole mid-century world of grit and cigars, of prize fights and thick New York accents—guys and dolls—is in these pages. The book is as much about the big picture as it is the close-up."—The Wall Street Journal

"The best racetrack books make you fall in love with a horse and become enthralled with the people around him, and that's exactly what Out of the Clouds does. It's a galloping tale of a misunderstood horse and horseman who navigated thoroughbred racing with guts, hunches, and a touch of magic."—Joe Drape, New York Times bestselling author of American Pharoah: The Untold Story of the Triple Crown Winner's Legendary Rise

"I was stunned and pleased by Out of the Clouds... an engaging story of a man's life, his nature, his wisdom, and the prolonged success born of talent, dedication, and compassion."—Edward L. Bowen, former editor-in-chief of The Blood-Horse and author of author of 20 books on Thoroughbred racing

narration was bad

very disappointed in the number of times the narrator mispronounced very common. horse racing names and terms. please have someone read who has actually seen a horse race

Great book

Loved this story. Would highly recommend it for all. What a feel good book and educational.

Great stories about thoroughbred racing history

This book’s central character provides the platform for telling some of the most interesting true stories of this great sport thoroughbred racing. Please listen to this book and it’s great stories and fall in love with this great sport as I have. It’s a sport you can participate in your whole life.

What a story

Even if you know or care little for horse racing this story is one that should be heard. The people of the time period are exceptional people with a colorful life. It’s the story of those that have ever struggled or been told they aren’t good enough. I’d love to see this made into a movie.

Outstanding

From the very first sentence of this book, kept my interest all the way through wonderful

An excellent read

This is a must read for any horse racing fan. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this amazing story.

Must listen for any horse racing fan

Really good story. I am a racing enthusiast so I gave the narrator 3 stars for miss pronunciations of some racing terms but other than that it’s excellent. Would make a great movie!

wonderful bit of horse racing history

this was a book full of History that probably many people don't know these days about a common man and a common horse the narrator was a little bit off on some of the pronunciation but I love the book

Good One

Like all the stories of historical horses, parts are certainly a bit dry, but it's overall a great story.

Was wonderful!

Really enjoyed the story and history behind the story! Always love the stories of the underdog coming out the winner.