Beautiful Jim Key

The Lost History of the World’s Smartest Horse

By: Mim Eichler Rivas

Narrated by: Mim E. Rivas

The horse Jim was known as Beautiful Jim Key from the moment he stepped into the American spotlight in 1897 at age eight until his death in 1912. This horse was beloved for his remarkable intelligence, cultivated by human kindness and patience. Proclaimed a genius, a leader of his species, the smartest horse who ever lived, with an IQ the equivalent of a 12-year-old human, Jim Key appeared to read, write, spell, do mathematics, tell time, sort mail, use a cash register and a telephone, cite bible passages by chapter and verse, and engage in political debate. Jim Key and his owner travelled the country performing these tricks, and whether true or not, the public believed it was so.

No less extraordinary was the man who trained Jim, Dr. William Key of Shelbyville, Tennessee, a former slave who in his life had seen horrific cruelty toward humans and animals. Bill Key was a self-schooled veterinarian and Black entrepreneur who refused to use force in any guise while breaking and training horses. It was thanks to this rare and intimate relationship between horse and man, championed by a second man named Albert R. Rogers - inventor, philanthropist, and founding member of the American Humane Society - that the animal rights movement was legitimized and born into the 20th century.

©2005 Mim Eichler Rivas (P)2021 Blackstone Publishing

Great story

Animal lovers will l be amazed, I Did and sent sent one to my granddaughter

Fascinating bit of (almost) lost history!

Before Seabiscuit, Secretariat or Man o' War... there was Jim Key; an educated horse! This book is a wonderful bit of (almost) lost history: the story of a horse and his trainer... who helped spark the "be kind to animals" movement.

Well researched and written... this story is a much for all who are interested in animal history.

Beautiful Jim Key

If one is a horse lover you should "read" this book. It is a remarkable story that flies in the face of everything one knows
about horses but wishes it was possible. I was totally captivated and am happy to be a believer!

the horses intelligence and the owners patience with him

sometimes the history was a little long but mostly interesting. lots of tidbits of history I never knew about

that Jim and Doc Key were Angel's sent to change the world for the better.

God Bless Mim and all the others who brought this story back. I feel I was a part of this story and lived that life. I was guided to read this book that touched me deeply and fell in love with Jim ,Doc and Monk and all that supported them too.

The Greatest Show-horse

I stumbled across a poster of Jim Key looking through the photos from the Pike at the 1904 World’s Fair, and finding this book was wonderful. The life of Dr William Key is as fascinating as his educated horse. It’s an epic tale that is informative and surprising whether your interests are World’s Fairs, show-business, patent-medicine, animal welfare charities, Fort Donelson and the Civil War, Tennessee, equine literacy, rabbits feet and superstitions, education and animal communication, or the nuances of varied experiences of enslaved persons. Overall it’s an inspiring record of what kindness can do, and as informative as it is, like the people and horse it’s about, this book is really all heart. (Also read by the author which is great.)

vocal Frye and unwanted details

Man, I really wanted to hear this story, and honestly I'm not done yet, but...the reading is difficult for me to listen to because of her vocal Frye. And too much info on unnecessary details I don't care about. I've noticed this on many audio books that have little to tell, they fill with, well, filler. I'd rather have a 30 page story than 300 page with stuff I don't Care about. Sorry. kudos to your research, but change the title to "Beautiful Jim and the Civil War"

Interesting subject, but horrible narration

As a horse lover, I was looking forward to hearing this book, but the narration is so bad that I couldn’t stand listening to her. Her voice is grinding and nasally, she ends each sentence in a low growl, and in the short time I listened to it I heard several mispronunciations and stutters. The publisher should have insisted that the narration be done by a professional but instead let the author do it. What a shame. I will have to learn about Jim Key from other sources.