I read this book not long after reading Laura Hillenbrand's Seabiscuit, and at first it seemed that the author intended to give Charismatic's story the same treatment. Not so--if you are looking for an inspirational story, this book is NOT for you. Like Seabiscuit, Mitchell weaves together the stories of horse, owner, trainer, and jockey leading up to a climactic championship race. But unlike Seabiscuit, this story ends tragically for everyone. Along the way, we glimpse the dark underworld of thoroughbred racing, which you may find disillusioning, if not downright disturbing, filled with addiction, crime, desperation and violence. Even so, this could have been a really good book, with rich characters and an exciting although ultimately tragic story; but insufficient editing has left it a jumbled mishmash that will only hold the attention of dedicated horse fans. The story line, which *could* have been riveting, loses its energy because the author jumps around so much chronologically, actually beginning the book with the high point of the story, when we don't yet know the characters well enough to care about them. A dry, rambling chapter on the history of gambling, that reads like a term paper, interrupts the story at a critical point, for no apparent reason, dispersing our attention. You never are allowed to develop the desire to turn the page to find out what happens next; the author has no sense of drama. The characters (the horse Charismatic, jockey Chris Antley, trainer D. Wayne Lukas, owners Bob and Beverly Lewis, the author, and her lover) at least are drawn reasonably well if somewhat unevenly. If you are a devoted thoroughbred horse racing fan, you will want to read this book for the inside dirt on this "dark and beautiful world". But if you aren't already a horse racing fan, this book won't make you one (if you even manage to finish it). People new to the sport will enjoy Seabiscuit a lot more.