Dark Horses and Black Beauties

<p>In a phenomenon too prevalent to be mere chance little girls all over the Western world wake one day to find themselves completely taken over by the love of all things equine. Melissa Holbrook Pierson was one of those horse-crazy girls who later returned to riding with a new appreciation for the nature of horses. Melding memoir sociology history anecdote and a bit of prose poetry Dark Horses and Black Beauties delves beneath the shallow hypotheses explaining women's connection to horses to look at how this communication with another animal opens us up to a new apprehension of the larger "natural" world. "A fearless book: unflinching honest and kind." Village Voice "The play of her mind...is subtle and quick; coltish one wants to say and one would be right." The New York Times Richard Bernstein "So beautifully written that it instantly captivates." Newark Star-Ledger "She muses to deep and lyrical effect in her new collection of slender and delicate essays on horses and women." Richard Bernstein The New York Times "A meditation intended to dispel those tiresome Freudian theories aimed at the universal fascination women seem to have with horses." The New York Times Book Review Jillian Dunham "A fearless book: unflinching earnest and kind." Village Voice Emily Jenkins "This is a poignant charming and realistic book." Maxine Kumin "Whoever likes animals will love this book and better yet whoever seeks to fathom the mysterious relationships between ourselves and other species will be transported." Elizabeth Marshall Thomas author of The Hidden Life of Dogs "As passionate as it is informative....Rich in history romance and charm Pierson's devotion to horses is always engaging and most of all moving." Brenda Peterson co-editor of Intimate Nature: The Bond Between Women and Animals "Pierson's...writing...is well suited to her subject containing bits of breathless enthusiasm one moment and peaceful contemplation the next." Publishers Weekly</p>