-
Access our Top 20
Books of 2024!
A Memoir of Farm and Family, Africa and Exile
by Mandy Retzlaff
There is little in this world that a family cannot endure, if endure they must. For we all have it within us to lose everything, absolutely everything, and still find strength in the most simple, beautiful things.
Pat and Mandy Retzlaff lived a hard but satisfying farming life in Zimbabwe. Working all hours of the day on their sprawling ranch and raising three boisterous children, they savored the beauty of the veld and the diverse wildlife that grazed the meadows outside their dining room window. After their children, the couple's true pride and joy were their horses.
But in early 2001, the Retzlaffs' lives were thrown into turmoil when armed members of President Robert Mugabe's War Veterans' Association began invading the farmlands owned by white Zimbabweans and violently reclaiming the land. Under the threat of death, the family was forced to flee, leaving behind a lifetime's possessions and becoming exiles in the only country they had ever called home.
As other families across the country fled, they left behind not only their homes but dozens of horses. Devoted animal lovers, Pat and Mandy—now essentially homeless themselves—vowed to save these horses: Shere Khan, the queen of the herd; Tequila, the escape artist forever breaking free and trying to walk back to his original home; Grey, the silver gelding and leader; Princess, the temperamental mare; and the numerous others they rescued along the way.
One Hundred and Four Horses is a love story and an epic tale of survival and unbreakable bonds—those that hold us to land and family, but also those between man and the most majestic of animals, the horse.
"After reading One Hundred and Four Horses, the phrases 'horse rescue' and 'let's make a plan' have new meaning. This is a compelling, touching and sometimes grisly account, and to read it is to understand in a new way the power of the horse-human bond." - Lawrence Scanlan, author of Wild About Horses: Our Timeless Passion for the Horse
"One Hundred and Four Horses is a breathless adventure ... an incredible story of a family that decided the lives of the animals they loved was worth risking their own. ... You will mourn and celebrate with [Retzlaff] at every step along the way." - Conor Grennan, New York Times bestselling author of Little Princes
This information about One Hundred and Four Horses was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Mandy Retzlaff is a lifelong horse lover and farmer. Today, Mandy and her husband, Pat Retzlaff, run a horse safari company on the Mozambique coast, taking tourists on rides through the wild and wonderful country that they now call home.
 (1).gif)
When an old man dies, a library burns to the ground.
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
