Stud

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. Kevin Conley is an editor at The New Yorker. His writing has appeared in the New York Times Sunday Magazine, Sports Illustrated, and The New Yorker. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Amy, and their two children, Sara and Max. 'Finally, the equine love story you've been waiting for...totally engrossing.'-Esquire '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 'Conley is a stylish and witty writer.' -Jane Smiley 'Simply wonderful. Conley provides all the needful color commentary with cool brio and a heart-gladdening display of language.'-Kirkus Reviews (starred review) 'Funny, insightful and surprisingly engaging. . .a vividly equine-centric view of social, cultural and economic human history.'-Publishers Weekly 'Cleverly compares the elaborate social and economic layers of breeding to the money-conscious matchmaking found in Jane Austen novels.'-Entertainment Weekly 'Conley's ability to turn the horses he studies into believable ch Sex. Money. Horses.