Wink

"May be the most fascinating untold sports story in American history."--Charles Osgood, anchor, cbs news sunday morning

"winkfield's story is so incredible you'll find yourself wondering why you've never heard it before."--msnbc

"Winkfield's life (is) an unbelievable ride."--ESPN

"for once, a book's breathless subtitle is accurate."--The Washington Post

"this is the stuff of great nonfiction."--douglas brinkley, author of Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War

in 1904, at age twenty-three, two-time kentucky derby-winner jimmy winkfield was forced from american horseracing by a virulent combination of racism and hard times. wink left his beloved kentucky, bought a steamer ticket for europe, and made the world his racetrack.

There he embarked on a decades-long odyssey, rising to superstardom and winning and losing two fortunes. Driven at gunpoint from Russia by the Bolshevik Army and from France by Nazi occupiers, the 105-pound jockey proved himself the most resilient, courageous athlete of the twentieth century. In 2005, Winkfield was inducted into America's horse racing Hall of Fame.

winkfield achieved a human greatness that transcends the limits of sport. in Wink, Ed Hotaling tells this wonderful story--this American story--in all its rich and vibrant power.