Why are there so few good biographies of horses? Well, never mind, here's one. The main character was an improbable racing champion: undersized, injury prone and ridden by a one-eyed jockey. Yet Seabiscuit captured America's heart, which pounded harder when he faced War Admiral in a showdown in 1938. Seabiscuit won, and Laura Hillenbrand does too with her deft blending of racing lore and social history.
Animated actors dominated the box office, Barry Bonds hit 73 and 'It' turned out to be a scooter. TIME picks the bests and the worsts of this year...