The Boys in the Boat

Boys in the Boat immersed me in the intensely difficult and beautiful world of rowing. I loved the tenacity of Joe Ranzt, who not only survived being abandoned at age 15 but became an integral part of the olympic gold medal winning rowing team.

This is a story of one man and also of a unified team, with all the growing pains it took to get there.

James Brown's The Boys in the Boat creates such an in-depth, detailed, and emotion filled true story about one of the most remarkable Olympic Sports gold medal wins in American sports history. But this classic work of nonfiction set in the late 1930's in Washington State weaves together such a beautiful tapestry of emotion, determination, skill and prowess that it often brought me to tears while reading. Beyond that, I learned an immense amount about the classic building of rowing skulls as well as much of the early history of people's lives in the early American Pacific Northwest.

it showcases quite well the ability to forge through challenges, from awful events of the past that seem to hold us from moving forward through life joyfully to daunting tasks in our day-to-day lives that build character as we tackle them. Following Joe from his youth to the Olympics was a smart approach, rooting the book not only in plot but also in characterization and theme.

I’d already bought the book when we decided to drive from our home in Sonoma, California, to visit friends who live in the San Juan Islands off the Washington Coast. I packed the book but also downloaded the Audible version. We started listening as we got on the road. I never opened the book.

It’s just a great story set in the time my parents were in high school and college. It was a world with which I was made familiar by their stories. The main character’s difficult early life resonates with anyone who has listened to the greatest generation… show more.

This story, set against the backdrop of the Great Depression and Hitler’s Germany, is about to hit the theaters as a feature film.

The Boys in the Boat are nine University of Washington rowers, many of whom have experienced poverty and hardship, who come together to qualify for and win the men’s eight event at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.

Rowers and non-rowers alike have been inspired by this book and what these college athletes achieved. As a competitive rower and University of Washington alum, I found it especially compelling.

I loved that the characters in this true story were able to accomplish something that no one ever expected of them. This book follows the crew team of nine working-class American boys from the University of Washington who, against all odds, ended up competing in the 1936 Olympics.

The main character in the story is Joe Rantz who comes from an incredibly harsh background with no family, no money, little food, and few clothes. He arrives on campus, discovers a love of rowing, and develops a great proficiency in the sport, ultimately helping his team achieve their dream.

You’d think… show more.

This is an amazing history of how the University of Washington rowing 8 formed the US team that won gold at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. 

It tells how a group of working-class young men were molded into a winning team that triumphed against the odds. No knowledge of rowing is needed to understand this great story of human endeavor. Extremely well written, it reads like a novel but is based on massive research. 

I found it absolutely gripping, so much so that I did not want to say goodbye to the real-life characters who can teach us the values… show more.

Until I read this book, I never dreamed that the intricacies of crew rowing could be so compelling; nor did I realize just how spotlighted a sport collegiate crew racing was in the early twentieth century.

This is microscopic history at its best. The focus is on a group of young Western American males, generally working-class, attending the University of Washington, and how they got sucked up into that world of competitive crew racing, a world that I always assumed was solely inhabited by (effete?) elite collegians at eastern colleges.

You learn so much about these particular young men, you… show more.

Who wouldn’t want to read the story of how a hardscrabble bunch of northwestern kids molded themselves into a nationally ranked crew team, beating not only Ivy League competitors but Hitler’s finest? 

The real reason this book resonates so much with me may have more to do with an author interview featuring Brown. He certainly had me with the epic athletic journey of a handful of unlikely heroes. But it was the way he layered the story, detailing scenes and otherwise bringing history to life, that really interested me.

In that author interview, he talked about going through old newspapers… show more.

This book is a great read, a superbly written morality play about the triumph of the underdog and the cathartic effect of sport. Brown, a former teacher of creative writing, now specializes in dramatic narrative nonfiction.

In The Boys in the Boat, Brown recounts the efforts of a group of young men at the University of Washington to reach their dream, winning gold in the coxed eights at the 1936 Olympics. The book vividly captures the physical and psychological demands placed on the neophyte rowers, demands that winnow out all but the toughest competitors.

Brown grounds his story by focusing… show more.