King of the Wind

Marguerite Henry

Jun 2008 · Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by David McCallum

About this audiobook

He was named “Sham” for the sun, this golden red stallion born in the Sultan of Morocco’s stone stables. Upon his heel was a small white spot, the symbol of speed. But on his chest was the symbol of misfortune. Although he was as swift as the desert winds, Sham’s proud pedigree would be scorned all his life by cruel masters and owners.

This is the classic story of Sham and his friend, the stable boy Agba. Their adventures take them from the sands of the Sahara to the royal courts of France and, finally, to the green pastures and stately homes of England. For Sham was the renowned “Godolphin Arabian” whose blood flows through the veins of almost every superior Thoroughbred. Sham’s speed–like his story–has become legendary.

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About the author

Marguerite Henry was the author of more than 50 beloved children's books, most of them about horses. Born in 1902, she sold her first story at age 11. Her most famous work, Misty of Chincoteague, was adapted into a successful film; this and the other Misty books proved a huge boon to tourism for the islands of Chincoteague and Assateague. Some of her other books include Justin Morgan Had a Horse, King of the Wind, Gaudenzia: Pride of the Palio, Mustang: Wild Spirit of the West, Brighty of the Grand Canyon, Black Gold, and San Domingo: the Medicine Hat Stallion. King of the Wind won the Newbery Medal in 1949. Henry also published a number of pictorial geography books for children in the 1940s. She passed away at age 95 in 1997.

David McCallum is a Scottish actor best known for his role as Illya Kuryakin on the 1960s hit series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and most recently as medical examiner Ducky on the long-running hit CBS series NCIS. Additionally, McCallum is a gifted audio book narrator; he has voiced the novels of several bestselling authors, including Anne Perry, Jeffery Deaver, and Marguerite Henry.  He also has written his own mystery, Once a Crooked Man.