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They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
by Horace McCoy
Lean, brutal fatalism inside a Depression-era dance marathon.
- 1935
The story, briefly
Spoiler-freeA young man and woman enter an exhausting Hollywood dance marathon because neither has many other choices.
Why we recommend it
Exhaustion without decoration
Its stripped-down prose and refusal to sentimentalize suffering feel remarkably close to Hemingway.
What this book explores
Book editions
Paperback
- Paperback
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References
References
The sources below include the primary text, editions, scholarship, archival materials, and other records that informed this page. They document They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, its publication, and its place in literary history.
1They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? — Open Library ISBN catalogue
Official recordOpen Library, Internet ArchiveUsed forOpen Library ISBN catalogue used to verify the title, ISBN, and publication metadata.
2They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? — Google Books edition record
Official recordGoogle BooksUsed forGoogle Books catalogue record used to cross-check the title and edition metadata.
3They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? — Internet Archive ISBN catalogue
Official recordInternet ArchiveUsed forInternet Archive ISBN catalogue used to cross-check the edition and its availability in library holdings.
4They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? — Library of Congress books catalogue
Official recordLibrary of CongressUsed forLibrary of Congress books catalogue used to cross-check the bibliographic record by ISBN.
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Why these sources are here
The primary text is the baseline reference for every book page. Additional references document publication history, interpretation, and historical context where that evidence is available.
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