The Black Stallion - The Black Stallion Books

The Black Stallion Books

These are the books written by Walter Farley, although The Young Black Stallion was co-written by Farley's son, Steven Farley. Steven Farley continued The Young Black Stallion series, about the Black's early years, and has written four Black Stallion novels, which are not included here.

1. The Black Stallion (1941) - In the series' first book, teenaged Alec Ramsay and an untamed, apparently wild black stallion, age uncertain in the first book, are stranded on a desert island after their ship, returning from Arabia where Alec was visiting his uncle, sinks. Dependent on each other for survival, the boy and horse learn to trust and love each other as they establish an amazingly strong and close lifelong emotional bond. After being rescued, Alec befriends retired racehorse trainer Henry Dailey, who lives near Alec. Henry recognizes the Black's superior breeding, and he and Alec secretly begin training the Black to race. But without a documented pedigree, Alec and Henry can only compete as mystery horse in a match race between two champions, Cyclone and Sun Raider.
2. The Black Stallion Returns (1945) - Now famous for winning the match race, Alec discovers that two men are after the Black. One, an Arab sheikh, claims he is the Black’s rightful owner, while the other attempts to murder the beautiful steed. The sheikh proves he legally owns the Black and takes him back to Arabia, but Alec is determined to see his horse again. Following the pair to Arabia, Alec encounters great evil and intrigue, as only a horse as spectacular as the Black could inspire.
3. Son of the Black Stallion (1947) - When Alec receives the Black Stallion’s first offspring as a gift, he believes that his dreams have come true. But Satan’s savage and wild nature makes him dangerous and unpredictable. Still, Alec, aided by Henry Dailey, is resolved to gain the fiery colt’s trust, even if it means risking his own life.
4. The Island Stallion (1948) - This novel introduces the stallion Flame. A boy, Steve Duncan, and his archaeologist friend, Pitch, spend two weeks on a desolate Caribbean island, called Azul (blue in Spanish) Island, where they discover an entrance to a hidden valley through underground tunnels built by Spanish Conquistadors. There they find a wild, flame-colored stallion and his herd, descended from the Spaniards' horses.
5. The Black Stallion and Satan (1949) - After Alec Ramsay inherits The Black, he has an opportunity to discover which stallion—the Black or his colt, Satan—is the fastest when Satan, the Black, and other famous thoroughbreds, must race for their lives to escape a raging forest fire with only one witness to prove their speed—Alec Ramsay.
6. The Blood Bay Colt (1951) - Veteran harness race driver Jimmy Creech, an aging driver and trainer who is reluctant to accept that Standardbred harness racing has moved from the county fairs to the big night-time, moneymaking raceways, pins his comeback hopes on Bonfire, the Black Stallion's second colt. His dreams are threatened by ill health and his young apprentice Tom's inexperience. Jimmy hopes that the great Black Stallion has given his son the speed and will to win.
7. The Island Stallion's Fury (1951) - Pitch and Steve's secret island valley is discovered and invaded by a hard, vicious man, who sees Flame and his band as creatures to be conquered by force.
8. The Black Stallion's Filly (1952) - Henry Dailey buys the Black's first filly to train for the Kentucky Derby. But Black Minx, like her sire, has a mind of her own and challenges Henry and Alec to train her in ways they have never used before.
9. The Black Stallion Revolts (1953) - When his restless black stallion revolts against the routine and schedule of stable life, becoming a potential killer, a plane crash thwarts Alec's plans to give the Black free run in the desert, and bringing danger to both boy and horse.
10. The Black Stallion's Sulky Colt (1954) - Bonfire and Tom are injured in a racing accident, leading Alec Ramsay and Henry Dailey to try harness racing. They train the Black's second colt for the Hambletonian Stakes, harness racing's most prestigious race, equivalent to thoroughbred racing's Kentucky Derby.
11. The Island Stallion Races (1955) - Two aliens from another world enter the secret valley of Azul Island and offer Steve an opportunity for Flame to compete against the world's fastest race horses.
12. The Black Stallion's Courage (1956) - With Henry and Alec needing money to rebuild their destroyed, uninsured barn, the Black is brought out of retirement for a match race against two other champion racers, Eclipse and Casey.
13. The Black Stallion Mystery (1957) - When three yearling colts arrive in the U.S. that are carbon copies of the Black, Alec believes that his world-famous black stallion's sire may still be alive. His quest returns him to Arabia, along with Henry and the Black, into a neatly laid trap.
14. The Horse Tamer (1958) - Henry Dailey, the Black Stallion's trainer, tells young Alec Ramsay about his brother, horse tamer, Bill Dailey, who rehabilitated many vicious and badly trained horses and worked to expose one unscrupulous horseman's tactics.
15. The Black Stallion and Flame (1960) - A plane crash strands the Black on a desert island with Farley's other legendary stallion - Flame. Their struggle for power becomes a fight for survival when the two horses band together to fight a deadly vampire bat.
16. Man o' War (1962) - A fictionalized biography of the American race horse who won twenty of twenty-one races, told by a stable boy who grew up with the great horse.
17. The Black Stallion Challenged (1964) - Alec, racing the Black in Florida over the winter, receives a letter from Steve Duncan, who challenges his horse, Flame against Alec's champion steed. Steve and Alec have never met, but the two young men are unaware that their stallions have, and the horses' hate for each other turns into focused rivalry as the two race to see who is the greater stallion.
18. The Black Stallion's Ghost (1969) - A peaceful Florida vacation is transformed into a nightmare, when Alec Ramsay and the Black stumble upon a mysterious horseman and his grey mare, deep in the Everglades.
19. The Black Stallion and the Girl (1971) - Hopeful Farm’s success has greatly increased Alec and Henry’s workload. After firing an employee for kicking a yearling, Alec takes out an advertisement in a racing magazine. When Pam Athena applies for the job, Alec has a hard time persuading his partners to retain her as a trainer and even harder time convincing himself to let her ride the Black Stallion when Alec is suspended as a jockey.
20. The Black Stallion Legend (1983) - Distraught after Receiving terrible news, Alec and the Black flee to the desert. There, the black stallion is looked upon to save an Indian tribe during a disaster, in order to fulfill an ancient prophecy.