[HARRYROOLAART.COM] Who is most responsible for bringing the Sport of Queens to the forefront and attention of the general public? Whose work has been translated into over 30 languages? Who, in 1984, was made an Officer of the most noble Order of the British Empire? What person received the Silver, Gold, and Cartier Diamond daggers for his life's work? Who is the only person to receive the prestigious Edgar Allen Poe Award more than once? Who was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Tuft's University in 1991? Whose career may be correctly categorized as a consistent effort to bring to his fans a rational hero guided by reason, not just once, but over 26 times? Who is the grand master of racing?
The answer to all of the above questions is, of course: Dick Francis; fighter pilot, reporter, jockey, columnist, biographer, short story writer, and prestigious novelist.
Dick Francis was born in Lawrenny, South Wales in 1920. During World War II, he piloted fighter and bomber aircraft, including the Spitfire and Lancaster between 1943 and 1946. Following the war, Francis, the son of a jockey, became a celebrity in the world of British National Hunt racing. He won more than 350 races, was Champion Jockey in 1953 and 1954, and was retained as jockey to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth for four seasons, 1953 through 1957. Francis rode eight times in the world famous Grand National Steeplechase, and almost won in 1956 when his horse, the Queen Mother's Devon Loch, just yards away from a win, suddenly stumbled and collapsed.
When most jockeys sooner or later face the question of what to do at the end of a normally short career, Dick Francis took Devon Loch's fall as impetus to launch what would be his life's work , that of a novelist and biographer. Seeking to integrate what had come before, into what was to come, Francis has always sought to sum up his life's career choices as stepping stones to a rational view of life: that one's life is worth living, and ought to pursue a single goal to be achieved not in the mere years afforded a jockey, but across the entire life span of a single individual.
In 1957, following yet one more serious fall, Dick Francis retired from racing and completed his autobiography, The Sport of Queens, which was published later that year. He accepted an invitation to write six features for the London Sunday Express. As a newspaper reporter and correspondent, he spent the next 16 years writing about his beloved sport, writing that would soon lead to a massive output of novels, starting with his first Dead Cert, published in 1962.
As the Sport of Queens testifies to, Dick Francis spent the remainder of his career , now placed on halt by the devastation of his wife's death , imbuing his heroes with his own, rational view of life. The Francis hero is, if not perfect, consistent and admirable in thought and action. He is a male that recognizes that one cannot fake life, fake existence, a hero that allows no breach between body and mind, thought and action, and between life and one's convictions. He is a moral man, loyal to his own convictions and always in accordance to his values: upholding, translating, and delivering them into practical reality.
Turning out about one novel per year since 1962, the Francis novels, long popular in England, did not become popular in the States until after a 1980 television series based on his 1965 novel Odds Against. For those who might turn away from Francis novels due to a lack of interest in the horse racing world, wondering how many times one can read about some jockey, it should be noted that many of the Francis novels have lead characters who, though involved with horse racing, do so indirectly, in occupations quite different from that of a jockey.
From Reflex's photographer, to Diving Force's horse transport owner, to Wild Horse's film director, to Smokescreen's actor, to To The Hilt's artist and painter. Each Francis hero drives the story via an interesting journey through society's divisions of labor. Some of his novels, for those interested in meeting their heroes repeatedly, have recurring lead characters, such as the private eye, Sid Halley series. What makes the Francis novel interesting is for the reader to be introduced into new environments, new occupations, new conflicts while simultaneously exploring the historic dramatic conflicts surrounding good and evil as found in man, per se.
In addition to his thirty-eight novels to date, Dick Francis has written his autobiography, The Sport of Queens, as well as a biography of jockey Lester Piggot A Jockey's Life. Field of Thirteen, his collection of short stories published in 1988 is available as well, for those relishing quick, Francis fixes.
We at HARRYROOLAART.COM highly recommend all of the Dick Francis novels as books we found ourselves unable to put down until all were devoured by our reading staff. For those who enjoy something different within the mystery genre, we give the Dick Francis novels a ***** 4 (out of 5) star rating.
Posted by admin on 2004-10-31 23:24:45 (Read: 4065 times)
Given today's intellectual discourse, it is almost a certainty that the consensus will find this article decidedly unpopular and unwelcome by many. That, in and of itself, is a good enough reason to write it.
We are a nation huddled in a corner, its intellectual mug slackened by fear. Of what is it afraid? Is it war? Economic crisis? Joblessness? Terrorism? The paraphrased answer, as Ayn Rand succinctly tells us, is the shocking, the disgraceful, the terrifying knowledge that there is no ideological trend in place today. There is no ideology. There are no political principles, theories, ideals, or philosophy, no direction, no vision of the future, no intellectual element of leadership forthcoming: not from Washington, D. C., not from our cable news casts, not from our editorial pages, not from our intellectual leaders, writers, or commentators. If that is not a good enough reason to be afraid, than what is?
Posted by admin on 2004-10-07 12:57:53 (Read: 14284 times)
[HARRYROOLAART.COM] Make no mistake about it, we at harryroolaart.com consider 24 to be the best show on television. Our reasons, first and foremost, is simple: given today's apathy towards politics and politicians, this is the only show, or movie that we know of, that presents its viewers in Season 1 with a President who operates on objective principle alone. David Palmer (played by Dennis Haysbert), former Senator from Maryland and now President of the United States, is a man who understands that evil can and does often succeed at the sanction of the good. David Palmer refuses this sanction and shows us evil's parasitical nature and what happens when such parasites are ousted from his own personal life, and the life of a nation's President. It is a powerful and inspiring legacy that informs the viewer of a political world that "ought to be" rather than one that "is."
Posted by admin on 2004-09-23 12:49:23 (Read: 5218 times)
[HARRYROOLAART.COM] We are delighted to bring to you a movie that is both dramatic and documentary in nature without forfeiting the gripping tension we've come to expect from the fictional genre. Touching The Void is a heroic film about the near-death experiences of a pair of English mountain climbers, who successfully ascended a peak in the Peruvian Andes only to find disaster on the way down. In order to save his life, one climber had to consider his survival and the value he placed on that survival, while the other climber came face to face with his willingness to adhere to reality in order to save himself after being left for dead. This movie is one of the best films we've seen.
Posted by admin on 2004-09-27 12:45:20 (Read: 3841 times)
HARRYROOLAART.COM has selected important volumes on the subject of politics,society,law,United States lawmakers and various legislation that passes in the halls of Congress.
[HARRYROOLAART.COM] Who is most responsible for bringing the Sport of Queens to the forefront and attention of the general public? Whose work has been translated into over 30 languages? Who, in 1984, was made an Officer of the most noble Order of the British Empire? What person received the Silver, Gold, and Cartier Diamond daggers for his life's work? Who is the only person to receive the prestigious Edgar Allen Poe Award more than once? Who was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Tuft's University in 1991? Whose career may be correctly categorized as a consistent effort to bring to his fans a rational hero guided by reason, not just once, but over 26 times? Who is the grand master of racing?
Given today's intellectual discourse, it is almost a certainty that the consensus will find this article decidedly unpopular and unwelcome by many. That, in and of itself, is a good enough reason to write it.
[HARRYROOLAART.COM] Make no mistake about it, we at harryroolaart.com consider 24 to be the best show on television. Our reasons, first and foremost, is simple: given today's apathy towards politics and politicians, this is the only show, or movie that we know of, that presents its viewers in Season 1 with a President who operates on objective principle alone. David Palmer (played by Dennis Haysbert), former Senator from Maryland and now President of the United States, is a man who understands that evil can and does often succeed at the sanction of the good. David Palmer refuses this sanction and shows us evil's parasitical nature and what happens when such parasites are ousted from his own personal life, and the life of a nation's President. It is a powerful and inspiring legacy that informs the viewer of a political world that "ought to be" rather than one that "is."
[HARRYROOLAART.COM] We are delighted to bring to you a movie that is both dramatic and documentary in nature without forfeiting the gripping tension we've come to expect from the fictional genre. Touching The Void is a heroic film about the near-death experiences of a pair of English mountain climbers, who successfully ascended a peak in the Peruvian Andes only to find disaster on the way down. In order to save his life, one climber had to consider his survival and the value he placed on that survival, while the other climber came face to face with his willingness to adhere to reality in order to save himself after being left for dead. This movie is one of the best films we've seen.