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

by Elizabeth Letts

A wartime rescue mission centered on horses

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Awards & Recognition

  • Award recognition

    Winner of the PEN Award for Research Nonfiction

    The source states that this book won the PEN Award for Research Nonfiction.

  • Bestseller

    New York Times bestseller

    The metadata identifies this book as a New York Times bestseller.

AlbakiReads Editorial

A wartime rescue mission centered on horses

Elizabeth Letts recounts a little-known World War II episode in which American soldiers set out to rescue prized horses held on a secret farm behind German lines. The account links the animals’ fate to the final days of the war: with Soviet forces advancing and food scarce, the horses face the threat of being slaughtered. A discovery of photographs prompts Colonel Hank Reed, with George Patton’s approval, to organize a covert operation. The narrative brings together military action, the Nazi effort to breed elite horses, and the soldiers and Germans involved in the rescue.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in World War II history told through a specific rescue operation.
  • Horse enthusiasts curious about the wartime fate of prized and purebred horses.
  • Readers of narrative nonfiction about military missions and animals.

Themes

World War IIAnimal rescueMilitary operationsHorse breedingCourage and sacrifice

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Book overview

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - From the author of The Ride of Her Life and The Eighty-Dollar Champion comes the "winningly readable" (The Christian Science Monitor) true story of the heroic rescue of priceless horses in the closing days of World War II.

"Hard to put down . . . One need not be an equestrian or horse lover in order to appreciate this story."--New York Journal of Books

WINNER OF THE PEN AWARD FOR RESEARCH NONFICTION

In the chaotic last days of the war, a small troop of 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 an equine master race. But with the starving Russian army closing in, the animals are in danger of being slaughtered for food.

With hours to spare, one of the U.S. Army's last great cavalrymen, Colonel Hank Reed, makes a bold decision--with General George Patton's blessing--to mount a covert rescue operation. Racing against time, Reed's determined force of soldiers, aided by several turncoat Germans, steals across enemy lines to save the horses.

An exhilarating tale of adventure, courage, and sacrifice, The Perfect Horse brings to life one of the most inspiring chapters in the annals of human valor.
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