"THE grass streaks beneath his glossy body. He plunges and gallops through the grasse to the distance, to a pebbly river where there is a horse just like him and then another emerges from beside the trees."

It was at this point I knew I was about to finish reading this fantastic book, The Byerley Turk, with a tear in my eye.

It is the latest book from Ludlow author Jeremy James and an amazing achievement.

Throughout its 338 pages, it transports the reader on a journey through Turkish history and, after a slightly slow start, is infinitely readable.

The Byerley Turk is generally accepted as one of three stallions to which all thoroughbred racehorses can trace their ancestry. Through some impressive research by Mr James, this horse's amazing history as a war horse, royal mount and racehorse is brought to life as well as producing a fine historical novel.

The seven-page bibliography and short tale of his own journey on horseback across Turkey as a prologue bears testament to the work which has gone into this book. I defy any horse lover to not be caught up in the emotions painted by the author as the spirited and courageous Byerley Turk carries himself and his owners through hair-raising moments in 17th century Turkey before ending up in Ireland.

The author uses a mixture of historical fact and great story-telling until you find yourself living the battles and cannon fire and waiting with baited breath alongside the horse's "seyis" (groom) to find out if his beast will return each evening.

Jeremy James has travelled widely in Europe and also worked as Turkish correspondent for several newspapers. He was commissioned by the International League for the Protection of Horses (ILPH) to write its story in Debt of Honour and, through this, dealt first hand with the Lipizzaner horses in the Balkan conflict.

The Byerley Turk is published by and available through Merlin Unwin Books of Ludlow. See www.merlinunwin.co.uk.

Andrea Calvesbert