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The Black Stallion #9
The Black Stallion Revolts
After the Black attacks another horse, Alec realizes that the once-wild horse needs more space and freedom, so they head out west to a huge ranch. But a terrible accident separates the two, leaving Alec with amnesia and the Black alone to reclaim the wild life to which he was born. As the Black struggles to survive, and as Alec struggles to remember who he is and his connection to the magnificent stallion in the canyon, a gripping adventure story unfolds.
288 pages, Paperback
First published August 12, 1953
42 people are currently reading
1240 people want to read
About the author
Walter Farley
169 books1,035 followersWalter Farley's love for horses began when he was a small boy living in Syracuse, New York, and continued as he grew up in New York City, where his family moved. Young Walter never owned a horse. But unlike most city children, he had little trouble gaining firsthand experience with horses-his uncle was a professional horseman, and Walter spent much of his time at the stables with him.
"He wasn't the most successful trainer of race horses," Mr. Farley recalled, "and in a way I profited by it. He switched from runners to jumpers to show horses to trotters and pacers, then back to runners again. Consequently, I received a good background in different kinds of horse training and the people associated with each."
Walter Farley began to write his first book, THE BLACK STALLION, while he was a student at Brooklyn's Erasmus Hall High School and Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania, and
finished it while he was an undergraduate at Columbia University. It was published by Random House when he was 26. He used his first advance to go traveling and after that hardly stopped longer than it took him to write another book. He traveled and lived in Mexico, Hawaii, the South Seas, most of the South American countries, the Caribbean Islands, and Europe.
The appearance of THE BLACK STALLION in 1941 was hailed by enthusiastic boys and girls all over the country. An avalanche of mail urged Mr. Farley to write more about Alec Ramsey and the Black. But World War II intervened. Mr. Farley went into the US Army, where he spent the next five years. Most of the time he was assigned to Yank, the army weekly magazine, and he was also trained in the Fourth Armored Division.
After the war Walter Farley resumed the adventures of Alec and the Black with THE BLACK STALLION RETURNS. This was followed by SON OF THE BLACK STALLION. Then Mr. Farley tried his hand at a story about a new boy, Steve Duncan, and a new horse, Flame, in THE ISLAND STALLION. Mr. Farley's readers were just as delighted with this book as his others.
Mr. Farley went on to write many more stories about the two stallions, and about other horses as well. Children of all ages have found Farley titles to enjoy, since many of the later stories were written for Mr. Farley's own children when they were too young to read his Stallion novels. And older readers and adults have been gripped by his fictionalized biography of America's greatest Thoroughbred, Man O'War. Walter Farley's titles reached a grand total of 34. The 21 Black Stallion and Island Stallion stories are still in print and selling steadily. His readers respond with passion, writing him thousands of letters and emails every year. In May 1949, the first Black Stallion Club was founded, in Kentucky. Mr. Farley designed a membership button for it; the button was in constant demand among his readers for years. The Black Stallion books were so popular in the late 1940s and '50s that they York Times annual list of best-selling children's books. Three nationwide Black Stallion contests were held. Walter Farley's books have been published abroad in more than 20 countries, including Austria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, England, Israel, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaya, Norway, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, and Switzerland, as well as in the United States and Canada.
All his life Walter Farley remained a keen spectator of the racing scene, and he enjoyed nothing more than hobnobbing with horse trainers and other professional horsemen. It is thanks to these people that his books are so full of authentic details of raising and training horses. When not busy working or traveling, Mr. Farley liked to ride dressage and high school Lippizaner horses. He also sailed and sometimes raced his 35-foot auxiliary sloop "Circe."
Mr. Farley and his wife Rosemary, had four children: Pam, Alice, Steve, and Tim, whom they raised on a farm in Pennsylvania and in a beach house in Florida. In addit
"He wasn't the most successful trainer of race horses," Mr. Farley recalled, "and in a way I profited by it. He switched from runners to jumpers to show horses to trotters and pacers, then back to runners again. Consequently, I received a good background in different kinds of horse training and the people associated with each."
Walter Farley began to write his first book, THE BLACK STALLION, while he was a student at Brooklyn's Erasmus Hall High School and Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania, and
finished it while he was an undergraduate at Columbia University. It was published by Random House when he was 26. He used his first advance to go traveling and after that hardly stopped longer than it took him to write another book. He traveled and lived in Mexico, Hawaii, the South Seas, most of the South American countries, the Caribbean Islands, and Europe.
The appearance of THE BLACK STALLION in 1941 was hailed by enthusiastic boys and girls all over the country. An avalanche of mail urged Mr. Farley to write more about Alec Ramsey and the Black. But World War II intervened. Mr. Farley went into the US Army, where he spent the next five years. Most of the time he was assigned to Yank, the army weekly magazine, and he was also trained in the Fourth Armored Division.
After the war Walter Farley resumed the adventures of Alec and the Black with THE BLACK STALLION RETURNS. This was followed by SON OF THE BLACK STALLION. Then Mr. Farley tried his hand at a story about a new boy, Steve Duncan, and a new horse, Flame, in THE ISLAND STALLION. Mr. Farley's readers were just as delighted with this book as his others.
Mr. Farley went on to write many more stories about the two stallions, and about other horses as well. Children of all ages have found Farley titles to enjoy, since many of the later stories were written for Mr. Farley's own children when they were too young to read his Stallion novels. And older readers and adults have been gripped by his fictionalized biography of America's greatest Thoroughbred, Man O'War. Walter Farley's titles reached a grand total of 34. The 21 Black Stallion and Island Stallion stories are still in print and selling steadily. His readers respond with passion, writing him thousands of letters and emails every year. In May 1949, the first Black Stallion Club was founded, in Kentucky. Mr. Farley designed a membership button for it; the button was in constant demand among his readers for years. The Black Stallion books were so popular in the late 1940s and '50s that they York Times annual list of best-selling children's books. Three nationwide Black Stallion contests were held. Walter Farley's books have been published abroad in more than 20 countries, including Austria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, England, Israel, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaya, Norway, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, and Switzerland, as well as in the United States and Canada.
All his life Walter Farley remained a keen spectator of the racing scene, and he enjoyed nothing more than hobnobbing with horse trainers and other professional horsemen. It is thanks to these people that his books are so full of authentic details of raising and training horses. When not busy working or traveling, Mr. Farley liked to ride dressage and high school Lippizaner horses. He also sailed and sometimes raced his 35-foot auxiliary sloop "Circe."
Mr. Farley and his wife Rosemary, had four children: Pam, Alice, Steve, and Tim, whom they raised on a farm in Pennsylvania and in a beach house in Florida. In addit
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
June 23, 2020
glad the horse boy was OK but what happened to the crime boy!!
http://www.frowl.org/worstbestsellers...
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May 4, 2014
Adventure stories are just that: adventure. They are stories that take you out into the jungle, deep into the desert, or out into the wild unknown. Adventure stories aren't based on reality, they are designed to pick you up onto their shoulders and race off with you into uncharted territory, make you feel the wind in your hair and the excitement in your heart, all without making you leave your chair. This is what Farley does so well. You pick up a book about the Black Stallion because you want to know what kind of trouble he and Alec are going to get out of this time or you want to live through another race of the century from a time when racing was the sport of the century. It doesn't matter that everything works out perfectly in the end, that's the beauty of the era the books came from. And in all honesty, does anyone ever feel this good about picking the one that came in second place? I think not.
September 29, 2011
One of the weaker entries in the canon. In this ninth book in the series, Farley hits cliche after cliche, starting with plane crash, moving through amnesia, heartless truckers, good-hearted rich guys who gave it all up, clueless cattle ranchers. Not that I didn't read every word- breathless plotting was one of Farley's gifts, and the ability to make one care despite the ludicrous situation. And nobody, but nobody, can write a race scene like him.
September 24, 2016
Found it at the opshop and had to read it again..... What a memory ..... I loved these books....
June 15, 2025
Really fun reading this book again.
Loved all of these as a kid.
Loved all of these as a kid.
February 13, 2016
Alec and The Black return to the wild in The Black Stallion Revolts, in an adventure that rivals the action and excitement captured in the first two books of the series. When Henry decides that Alec and The Black need a vacation, he sends them west. Little does he realize the danger that awaits them. When the duo disappears, only they can find their way back to each other and to the people they left behind.
The Black Stallion Revolts starts off slow, there's quite a bit of recapping that takes place in the first 30 pages. But once the story really gets started, it's a nail-biter to the end.
The Black Stallion Revolts starts off slow, there's quite a bit of recapping that takes place in the first 30 pages. But once the story really gets started, it's a nail-biter to the end.
September 10, 2022
I'm sorry, WHAT??? This book had no business being this good. It makes me want to give it more than 5/5 stars or to lower my rating for every. other. book. in. this. series. My only problem was with the whole premise of the Black going crazy but THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD. The plot was more gripping and the writing was better than in any of the other Black Stallion books I've read up to this point.
Best kids' book I've read in a while.
I'll stop screaming about it now.
Best kids' book I've read in a while.
I'll stop screaming about it now.
December 25, 2023
4,5 ⭐️
Je relève quelques clichés mais bon c'est un livre pour les plus jeunes à la base. Il est super chouette je trouve, ça diffère un peu des autres qui sont vite redondants à mon sens
Je relève quelques clichés mais bon c'est un livre pour les plus jeunes à la base. Il est super chouette je trouve, ça diffère un peu des autres qui sont vite redondants à mon sens
April 23, 2016
I love this book. I loved it as a child and I still love it. This book hits so many of my H/C buttons (Alec losing his memory, being left for dead, fleeing, taken in by strangers, finding friends, finding a friend again - *big happy sigh*). I love that in this book the injures Alec receives are treated as such. No magical healing or jumping around again a day later. It takes time to heal and there are some long lingering after effects.
The book isn't perfect but reading it makes me very happy and it's as if I'm reading it for the first time again. ♥
The book isn't perfect but reading it makes me very happy and it's as if I'm reading it for the first time again. ♥
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 17, 2019
I read this years ago. It's the book that kind of throws a wrench in the timeline since based on the plot and references, this happened in the timeframe between "The Black Stallion's Filly" (ends on Kentucky Derby Day) and "TBS Courage" (begins before the Preakness which is generally 2 weeks after the Derby).
If you can get past that, it's one of the better entries in the series as far as the plotline and what have you.
If you can get past that, it's one of the better entries in the series as far as the plotline and what have you.
September 24, 2009
My dad was reading this to me when a tornado destroyed our house in 1985. I always remembered the beginning and wanted to know the ending. It only took me a quarter of a century to find out. Not too shabby of a read by Mr. Farley. I love kids books that were written pre-1970.
October 12, 2024
Very exciting. I love the interaction between Alec and the Black.
November 30, 2019
Again, I was desperate for a good read and pulled this off my bookshelf. I hadn't read it for years. It does bring back memories of my childhood. I rode horses weekly. Love the story.
April 15, 2021
The book the black stallion revolts by Walter Farley is about a kid who gets in a plane crash with his horse and gets amnesia and forgets about his horse.
The kid survives the plane crash and doesn't remember who he is and can't figure out where he is and he hides in the back of a truck and then he gets found and beaten up and is left on the side of the road. “They set him down on the side of the road and he clung to the dirt”(pg 68 line 10). he doesn't know where he is and has to try to figure out what to do and he has to find food and water to survive .
I would rate this book a five out of five stars. Some of the reasons why I like this book is one there's always something happening. There's never a boring moment in the book and there's always something interesting happening and something to keep you wondering what is going to happen next.
If you are looking for a good book to read to fill your free time and want something that is not boring and stays interesting i would recommend the black stallion revolts.
The kid survives the plane crash and doesn't remember who he is and can't figure out where he is and he hides in the back of a truck and then he gets found and beaten up and is left on the side of the road. “They set him down on the side of the road and he clung to the dirt”(pg 68 line 10). he doesn't know where he is and has to try to figure out what to do and he has to find food and water to survive .
I would rate this book a five out of five stars. Some of the reasons why I like this book is one there's always something happening. There's never a boring moment in the book and there's always something interesting happening and something to keep you wondering what is going to happen next.
If you are looking for a good book to read to fill your free time and want something that is not boring and stays interesting i would recommend the black stallion revolts.
October 25, 2017
It's hard for me to choose, but if someone asked me which one of this series was my favorite, I would probably answer, this one.
The Black has been getting more aggressive and out of control. When a fight between the Black and Satan nearly ends up with Henry being seriously injured, Alec decides to fly out to a friend's ranch and give his horse some room to run free. But before they reach their destination, the airplane crashes. Alec wakes up a complete stranger to himself, money in his pocket and no memory of how it came to be there, and no memory of the Black. Hitchhiking doesn't end well for him, but eventually a good Samaritan on a donkey finds him and patches him up. He even finds a job for the frustrated amnesiac. But things begin to become difficult when a wild black stallion is noticed stealing mares and running with the mustangs... A horse that seems to know the confused boy, even if the boy doesn't know him.
The Black has been getting more aggressive and out of control. When a fight between the Black and Satan nearly ends up with Henry being seriously injured, Alec decides to fly out to a friend's ranch and give his horse some room to run free. But before they reach their destination, the airplane crashes. Alec wakes up a complete stranger to himself, money in his pocket and no memory of how it came to be there, and no memory of the Black. Hitchhiking doesn't end well for him, but eventually a good Samaritan on a donkey finds him and patches him up. He even finds a job for the frustrated amnesiac. But things begin to become difficult when a wild black stallion is noticed stealing mares and running with the mustangs... A horse that seems to know the confused boy, even if the boy doesn't know him.
July 3, 2024
There are a lot of slow parts in this book, and they do that clichéd thing where Alec hits his head and loses his entire memory, even his own name, except according to Mayo Clinic that's not actually how amnesia works (usually, people with amnesia know their name and who they are, they just can't remember recent events), and it's also annoying how in past books Alec has gone through college so he's probably in his early twenties but in this book he's said to be between sixteen and eighteen years old. But even so, I was not expecting to get a little weepy when Alec finally got his memory back. This series has some faults, but mostly it's pretty great.
February 6, 2023
2.5 stars. I was a bit frustrated by this book from the outset. The blurb explained the first 5 chapters of this book, which made for a frustrating start to reading. The rest of the book was primarily driven by stupid choices, annoying misunderstandings and inaction.
That being said, Farley really can write a compelling horserace-it's by far the greatest highlight of the book, and earned a star on it's own.
I recommend to committed fans of the Black Stallion series. Others should pass.
That being said, Farley really can write a compelling horserace-it's by far the greatest highlight of the book, and earned a star on it's own.
I recommend to committed fans of the Black Stallion series. Others should pass.
October 3, 2025
The Black Stallion goes wild and become uncontrollable. Alec then tries to get the Stallion's trust back. This makes Alec sad because the horse now treats him as a stranger.
He does get the Stallion's trust back in the end, but he did struggle alot before he could. The book shows his relentless efforts to gain the Stallion's trust back. The book is actually pretty interesting and fun to read.
He does get the Stallion's trust back in the end, but he did struggle alot before he could. The book shows his relentless efforts to gain the Stallion's trust back. The book is actually pretty interesting and fun to read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 4, 2022
In this book, Alec gets injured in an accident, leaving him with no memory of who he is or who The Black Stallion is. The stallion is running wild in the canyons. I was so distraught about this book, wondering if they would be okay and reunited. I am seriously determined to buy this whole series again.
November 26, 2019
I read all of the Black Stallion books I could as a child, but this is the one that always stood out to me. Maybe I'm just a sucker for an amnesia storyline, but this one was a lot of fun and one I read over and over in middle school.
May 12, 2017
loved every book in this series....my best friend Laura and I couldn't read them fast enough
February 12, 2019
A childhood favorite. A quick read, although dated in it's writing style (written in the 1950's) still very readable and entertaining. Definite fist pump moments!
June 10, 2019
I first read as many of the Black Stallion books as I could get my hands on when I was a horse crazy girl. They are every bit as good today as they were then!
March 14, 2022
It was much better than I expected. When I read the plot summary, it seemed a bit cheesy, but NO! The story was exciting and kept me hooked.
May 29, 2022
A fun adventure for Alec and the Black fans. It would have made a completely different story, but I wish it had started when Alec woke up or even after he'd been working on the ranch for a while.
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July 26, 2023SKW to BHW
January 16, 2024
I read this book in one night (a year ago) and I loved it. I couldn't put it down and I did not get any sleep that night..... Thank you, Walter Farley.
August 18, 2024
Great action.
October 3, 2024
So dramatic it shaped my entire personality
April 7, 2025
Loved this book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews