{"product_id":"2940169296129","title":"The Perfect Horse: The Daring U.S. Mission to Rescue the Priceless Stallions Kidnapped by the Nazis","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e BESTSELLER ¿ From the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Eighty-Dollar Champion, \u003c\/i\u003ethe remarkable story of the heroic rescue of priceless horses in the closing days of World War II\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the chaotic last days of the war, a small troop of battle-weary American soldiers captures a German spy and makes an astonishing find-his briefcase is empty but for photos of beautiful white horses that have been stolen and kept on a secret farm behind enemy lines. Hitler has stockpiled the world's finest purebreds in order to breed the perfect military machine-an equine master race. But with the starving Russian army closing in, the animals are in imminent danger of being slaughtered for food.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith only hours to spare, one of the U.S. Army's last great cavalrymen, Colonel Hank Reed, makes a bold decision-with General George Patton's blessing-to mount a covert rescue operation. Racing against time, Reed's small but determined force of soldiers, aided by several turncoat Germans, steals across enemy lines in a last-ditch effort to save the horses.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePulling together this multistranded story, Elizabeth Letts introduces us to an unforgettable cast of characters: Alois Podhajsky, director of the famed Spanish Riding School of Vienna, a former Olympic medalist who is forced to flee the bomb-ravaged Austrian capital with his entire stable in tow; Gustav Rau, Hitler's imperious chief of horse breeding, a proponent of eugenics who dreams of genetically engineering the perfect warhorse for Germany; and Tom Stewart, a senator's son who makes a daring moonlight ride on a white stallion to secure the farm's surrender.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA compelling account for animal lovers and World War II buffs alike, \u003ci\u003eThe Perfect Horse\u003c\/i\u003e tells for the first time the full story of these events. Elizabeth Letts's exhilarating tale of behind-enemy-lines adventure, courage, and sacrifice brings to life one of the most inspiring chapters in the annals of human valor.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47150224769264,"sku":"2940169296129","price":22.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940169296129_p0.jpg?v=1763775475","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940169296129","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}