Synopses & Reviews
Sex. Money. Horses.
Every year, on Valentine's Day, the great Thoroughbred farms open their breeding sheds and begin their primary business. For the next one hundred and fifty days, the cries of stallions and the vigorous encouragement of their handlers echo through breeding country, from the gentle hills of Kentucky to the rich valleys of California. Stud takes us into this strange and seductive world of horse breeding. We meet the world's leading sire, Storm Cat, the Triple Crown winner, Seattle Slew, and a nearly unmanageable colt, Devil Begone, who has found peace and prosperity on the banks of the Rio Grande servicing desert mares like Patty O'Furniture. Cheap stud, top stud, old stud, wild stud, from the Hall of Fame horse to the harem stallion with his feral herd, Stud looks at intimate acts in idyllic settings and the billion-dollar business behind them.
Review
"Kevin Conley, an editor at the New Yorker and the author of Stud: Adventures in Breeding, clearly would argue that horses in heat deserve literary attention -- and after finishing his book, it's tough to disagree....He bounces from farm to farm with bemusement and no clear goal or focus, which occasionally makes Stud feel like a scattershot collage without a narrative core. But Conley's mix of wit and awe ensures that the journey is pleasurable and informative." Damien Cave, Salon.com (read the entire Salon review)
Review
"Funny, insightful and surprisingly engaging...a vividly equine-centric view of social, cultural and economic human history." Publishers Weekly
Review
"A great entertainment, a piece of vivid reporting, and a marvel of economy and wit. I read it straight through, at a gallop." Jeffrey Eugenides, author of The Virgin Suicides
About the Author
Kevin Conley is an editor at
The New Yorker. His writing has appeared in the
New York Times Magazine, Sports Illustrated, and
The New Yorker. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Amy, and their two children, Sara and Max.