The Perfect Horse: The Daring U.S. Mission to Rescue the Priceless Stallions Kidnapped by the Nazis by Elizabeth Letts

The Perfect Horse: The Daring U.S. Mission to Rescue the Priceless Stallions Kidnapped by the Nazis

Elizabeth Letts
400 pages
Ballantine
Aug 2016
Science WSBN
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<b>From the #1 <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author of <i>The Eighty-Dollar Champion, </i>the remarkable story of the heroic rescue of priceless horses in the closing days of World War II</b><br> <b> </b><br> In the chaotic last days of the war a small troop of battle-weary American soldiers captures a German spy and makes an astonishing find - his briefcase is empty but for photos of beautiful white horses that have been stolen and kept on a secret farm behind enemy lines. Hitler has stockpiled the world's finest purebreds in order to breed the perfect military machine - an equine master race. But with the starving Russian army closing in, the animals are in imminent danger of being slaughtered for food.<br> <br> With only hours to spare, one of the Army's last great cavalrymen, American colonel Hank Reed, makes a bold decision - with General George Patton's blessing - to mount a covert rescue operation. Racing against time, Reed's small but determined force of soldiers, aided by several turncoat Germans, steals across enemy lines in a last-ditch effort to save the horses.<br> <br> Pulling together this multistranded story, Elizabeth Letts introduces us to an unforgettable cast of characters: Alois Podhajsky, director of the famed Spanish Riding School of Vienna, a former Olympic medalist who is forced to flee the bomb-ravaged Austrian capital with his entire stable in tow; Gustav Rau, Hitler's imperious chief of horse breeding, a proponent of eugenics who dreams of genetically engineering the perfect warhorse for Germany; and Tom Stewart, a senator's son who makes a daring moonlight ride on a white stallion to secure the farm's surrender.<br> <br> A compelling account for animal lovers and World War II buffs alike, <i>The Perfect Horse</i> tells for the first time the full story of these events. Elizabeth Letts's exhilarating tale of behind-enemy-lines adventure, courage, and sacrifice brings to life one of the most inspiring chapters in the annals of human valor.
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Excellent book reads like an adventure movie! A must-read for horse lovers or fans of history!

An excellent story, well written.....it sounds like an action movie plot, but it was real....With the beginning of WWII many old and famous horse stables and horse breeding facilities in Europe came under the control of the Nazis. The man over the entire horse breeding program for the Nazi state was Gustav Rau, a horseman who believed firmly in the 19th century eugenics beliefs which summarized are that there are "perfect" species of animals, and of humans....of course, the Nazis believed the Aryan race (Northern europeans, especially Germans and Scandinavians) were the peak of human perfection, and for animals, it was believed that certain breeding methods COULD improve the any breed. Rau wanted to produce perfect "super horses" for the use of the Nazi military machine. IN Austria, one of the first nations to fall to the Nazis, there is an ancient school where the Lippizaner stallions can be found, and where they are trained, each horse with one man for his entire life, to do the most incredible "acrobatic" like moves, in a kind of dance. Originally, when the school was begun (nearly 400 years ago now) these movements were valid for horses on the battlefield. In the "Spanish Riding School" as it called, these spectacular moves are the peak of years of training of these wonderful, highly intelligent horses, trained always with gentleness and never with fear or cruelty. Rau took over the separate breeding facilities for the Lipizanners, and began to put into effect his eugenics based beliefs.....he wanted to eventually change the Lippizanners, make them more suited to the modern age war machine, and yet keep their intelligence, good nature, and physical abilities. Rau also took over a famous Polish stud farm which bred only Arabians....this was considered a priceless jewel by the Polish people, and the men who cared for the horses there...... Rau forced the various schools and groups of horses to be moved around....He combined Arabian and Lippizanner bloodlines in...

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About this book
Pages 400
Publisher Ballantine
Published 2016
Readers 4