Beautiful Jim Key: The Lost History of a Horse and a Man Who Changed the World

I finished reading this book from cover to cover just a few minutes ago, and feel driven to share my thoughts on a book that held my attention to the very end. The author has turned a lot of painstaking research into a fascinating account of this extraordinary phenomenon. The story is well structured, and attractively told, with a lot of interesting diversions on the Civil War, the movement to curb cruelty to animals, and the St. Louis World's Fair as well as its predecessors.Isn't it remarkable how a significant piece of history can so narrowly escape total oblivion? It made me think of the efforts of Schliemann in the nineteenth century, who used his concept of archaeology to prove to the unsuspecting world that the account of the Trojan War in Homer's Iliad was truth and not fiction. In this case the history was recent, and Mim Rivas caught the descendants of the eye witnesses just in time.Incidentally, I am a very critical proof reader of everything I read, and I was impressed by the careful editing evidenced in the printing of this book. Just one observation: the singular of species is species, not specie (page 37).What haunts me now is my lingering skepticism about Jim Key's performances. I would like to know more about horse whispering, and whether it's possible that Dr. Key might have given signals to the horse that would have been imperceptible to the audience. I don't doubt that a horse could be taught to recognize letters and even do some arithmetic, but the idea that he could master some of the intricacies of spelling, like 'Isaac' and 'Aaron', strains my credulity, and I really suspect that some other communication came into play. Wouldn't it be interesting to hear more from some psychologists and animal experts along the lines of Desmond Morris?

I found this story an interesting story about race relations and progress in teaching society about kindness to animals at the turn of the 19-20th century -- after I got through the heavy emphasis on commercialsim. However, the heavy thread of commercialism that ran throughout was very off-putting to me -- probably it was a big thread in the author's source materials. She tried to present the story with the exploitation of Jim Key's talents as a key to acceptance of kindness of animals in our society as a main theme -- but I saw that as more of a side benefit of the humans' desire to become wealthy -- a "gimmick" used to further the commercialization of Jim Key. To me altruism truly exists only where the primaries are not attempting to gain anything for themselves, whether that be money, reputation, or praise. Hence this story is about commercialization, not altruism. Now it is true that Bill Key highly valued kindness to animals and that he was uncompromising about the right of Jim Key to enjoy the wealth too -- and that was a great and unusual characteristic at that time (and probably still is today) -- but it does not change the fact that commercialization seems to me to be the main theme of the story. In fact the author seems to make more points about the promoter's innovative commercializations than she does about the progress of teaching kindness to animals.

Although Beautiful Jim Key is buried in Shelbyville, TN, not too far from where I grew up and Mim Eichler Rivas is originally from Oak Ridge, TN, where I now live, the story of Beautiful Jim Key became known to me only when she came to Oak Ridge to promote her book. Being interested in unique history stories of our area, her book caught my attention.What I found was more than just the lost history, although the facts of that discovery make for a good story. Beyond Mim's obvious enthusiasm for accurate research, her deep understanding of the people and situations - especially the Civil War events she relates, and her insights into the kindness "always to be kind to animals" promise and its tremendous impact on animal-rights, lies the excellent storytelling and writing ability of this superbly talented author. Having discovered her writing through Beautiful Jim Key, I now look forward to her next work!Beautiful Jim Key is an engaging read that will hold your attention as well as educate you regarding the value of kindness through Dr. Bill Key's relationship with his "smartest horse in the world." The author's skill will keep you turning the pages well into the night as you follow the story related by Dr. Key to his promoter, Alert R. Rogers, and creatively crafted into a comprehensive history of a man and his horse presented as an intriguing human interest tale by Mim Eichler Rivas.

This book is a foundation selection in book-centered leadership [rograms we do. I is about an amazing man and his horse and their involvement in the early movement called the Society For the Prevention of Cruelty To Animals, Each time we use this book for our programs we find ourselves wishing we could have Doc Key as a dinner guest in our home. Anyone interested in the lives an accomplishments of ruely unique and wonderful people will be mesmerized by Doc Key and his educated horse, Beautiful Jim Key.Paul Craig

The book is long out of print. My wife read a story about the subject of the book and wanted to read it so I was happy to find a copy in this condition for a fair price.

This book seems to tell the story of an alternate America in a different universe. How different our history could have been. Please, please make a film about Doc and Beautiful Jim Key.