The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics: Brown, Daniel James: 9780670025817: Amazon.com: Books

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Spoiler Free Thoughts After Reading The Boys in the BoatJK Reviews

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Daniel James Brown

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics Hardcover – June 4, 2013

by Daniel James Brown (Author)

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Now a Major Motion Picture Directed by George Clooney

The #1 New York Times–bestselling story about the American Olympic rowing triumph in Nazi Germany—from the author of Facing the Mountain.

For readers of Unbroken, out of the depths of the Depression comes an irresistible story about beating the odds and finding hope in the most desperate of times—the improbable, intimate account of how nine working-class boys from the American West showed the world at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin what true grit really meant.

It was an unlikely quest from the start. With a team composed of the sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the University of Washington’s eight-oar crew team was never expected to defeat the elite teams of the East Coast and Great Britain, yet they did, going on to shock the world by defeating the German team rowing for Adolf Hitler. The emotional heart of the tale lies with Joe Rantz, a teenager without family or prospects, who rows not only to regain his shattered self-regard but also to find a real place for himself in the world. Drawing on the boys’ own journals and vivid memories of a once-in-a-lifetime shared dream, Brown has created an unforgettable portrait of an era, a celebration of a remarkable achievement, and a chronicle of one extraordinary young man’s personal quest.

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Print length

416 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Viking
Publication date

June 4, 2013
Dimensions

6.33 x 1.39 x 9.33 inches
ISBN-10

067002581X
ISBN-13

978-0670025817
Lexile measure

1260L
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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5

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A little late, but great!

Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2024

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One of our boys decided out of the blue to try out for college Crew. We'd heard of the book but suddenly really needed to read it. Excellent writing, some of the best ever describing life in the U.S. in truly difficult times, made more special by its setting in our part of the country. It described what our son was going through as he tried out for the spring team and made it. The book helped us understand the new terms he was speaking, the roles of the team members, the challenges and benefits of competitive rowing. The story grabs the reader and never lets go, exhilarating and sobering at turns, the adventure of lives well lived. There are lessons for each of us, but especially for young men to be and their parents, without the slightest hint of preaching or teaching. Get it, you won't be disappointed.

2 people found this helpful

John W. Pearson

Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2014

Verified Purchase

Oh, my. How do I describe this book--and the extraordinary value of reading it together with your team? If I write a dull, been-there-read-that review, you might surmise the book is equally dull. It's not!

What if...I bet the farm and predicted that "The Boys in the Boat" will be my 2014 book-of-the-year pick? (Would that get your attention?)

What if...I said this true story of "Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" included my pick for the most exquisite description--I've ever read--of what a high performance team looks like?

What if...I told you that Bill Butterworth, the author of On the Fly Guide to...Building Successful Teams , wrote me recently after I had reviewed Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption ? He noted, "Unbroken is the best book I've read in the last couple of years! Wanna know what comes in at Number Two? It's called The Boys in the Boat. I couldn't put it down. Everybody I've recommended it to hates my guts because they can't put it down once they start it."

Author Daniel James Brown writes narrative nonfiction books and his primary interest as a writer is "in bringing compelling historical events to life as vividly and accurately" as he can. Trust me, he can!

Back before American football owned it all, sports fans in the 1930s (a tough time) embraced university rowing teams with remarkable fanaticism. In Seattle, the lakeshore crowds at the eight-oar crew races between the University of Washington and the University of California at Berkeley rivaled the "12th man" stupor over the NFL Super Bowl champs, the Seattle Seahawks.

What if...I were still leading a team? Here's how I would leverage the power of this book:
--Buy one book (or Kindle version) for each team member--and provide a "read and reflect" learning tool.
--Plan a team-building retreat in the next 30 to 90 days.
--At the retreat, invest time every morning and evening--listening, listening, and more listening as our team talked about "Elements of Teamwork," as described in The Boys in the Boat.
--Enjoy every afternoon in an experiential team-building activity: Rowing (if possible), ropes courses, zip lines, climbing walls, confidence courses, etc.

Really--the insights, the drama, the real life stuff-in-the-trenches, is so, so insightful. Some, like Butterworth, will read the book non-stop. Others might enjoy slowly savoring each chapter--including the PowerPoint-worthy insights from George Yeoman Pocock, the master craftsman and leading designer and builder of racing shells in the 20th Century.

"To be of championship caliber, a crew must have total confidence in each other, able to drive with abandon, confident that no man will get the full weight of the pull..."

"Pocock-built shells began to win U.S. Intercollegiate Rowing Association championships in 1923." According to Wikipedia, "he achieved international recognition by providing the eight-oared racing shells which won gold medals in the 1936 Summer Olympics and again in 1948 and 1952. In this era, nearly every collegiate and sport rowing program in America used wooden shells and oars built by Pocock."

Trust me--the reverential side trips down historical alleys are stunning. Brown excels in fluid detail. The writing: elegant. The insights: elevating.

Here's a keeper from pages 234-235. Listen to the wisdom as Master Boatbuilder Pocock coaches Joe, a young rower with promise and dreams--but a nasty childhood:

"He suggested that Joe think of a well-rowed race as a symphony, and himself just one player in the orchestra. If one fellow in an orchestra was playing out of tune, or playing at a different tempo, the whole piece would naturally be ruined.

"That's the way it was with rowing. What mattered more than how hard a man rowed was how well everything he did in the boat harmonized with what the other fellows were doing. And a man couldn't harmonize with his crewmates unless he opened his heart to them. He had to care about his crew. It wasn't just the rowing but his crewmates that he had to give himself up to, even if it meant getting his feelings hurt.

"Pocock paused and looked up at Joe. `If you don't like some fellow in the boat, Joe, you have to learn to like him. It has to matter to you whether he wins the race, not just whether you do.'"

Then this clincher:

"He told Joe to be careful not to miss his chance. He reminded him that he'd already learned to row past pain, past exhaustion, past the voice that told him it couldn't be done. That meant he had an opportunity to do things most men would never have a chance to do. And he concluded with a remark that Joe would never forget.

"'Joe, when you really start trusting those other boys, you will feel a power at work within you that is far beyond anything you've ever imagined. Sometimes, you will feel as if you have rowed right off the planet and are rowing among the stars.'"

Unlike most other sports, says the author, "One of the fundamental challenges in rowing is that when any one member of a crew goes into a slump the entire crew goes with him." How do individual slumps affect morale on your team--or in your family?

One of the University of Washington coxswains would often shout to the eight oarsmen, "MIB! MIB! MIB!" Brown writes, "The initialism stood for `mind in boat.' It was meant as a reminder that from the time an oarsman steps into a racing shell until the moment that the boat crosses the finish line, he must keep his mind focused on what is happening inside the boat." What acronym could your team use to keep everyone focused?

21 people found this helpful

Make your own life, Joe. Stay out of ours.

Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2024

Verified Purchase

In 1936, nine working-class boys from the University of Washington went to the Berlin Olympics in a quest for the gold medal. Their sport: rowing, a sport of which George Yeoman Pocock said, "That is the formula for endurance and success: rowing with the heart and the head as well as physical strength." It is an emotional, mental, and physical sport which, in this particular case, asks that nine human beings be in perfect tune with each other.

Author Daniel James Brown does an excellent job of putting his story into the context of the world stage, a time in which Hitler was determined to become master of the world-- and also a time when the world was still in the grip of the Depression.

At the heart of The Boys in the Boat is Joe Rantz of the University of Washington rowing team. At the age of ten, he was abandoned by his parents. Joe's father was willing to follow the lead of his second wife, a woman who decided that there were too many mouths to feed and that this child had to go. At one point, she told him, "Make your own life, Joe. Stay out of ours." Brown builds his story from the boys' journals and vivid memories, and it's a true Cinderella story. These boys were competing in an elite sport normally thought of as belonging to the privileged rich of the East Coast.

Often compared to Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken, I found The Boys in the Boat more in tune with another of her books, Seabiscuit: An American Legend, with its emphasis on sport, the Depression, and a fascinating cast. As much as I savored the stories of the boys on the University of Washington rowing team, I also appreciated the in-depth look at the sport of rowing itself. I never knew how popular it was in the 1930s or how demanding it was.

If you're in the mood for a thrilling, eye-opening, often heart-wrenching, slice of history, I highly recommend The Boys in the Boat.

8 people found this helpful

An informative, moving, and enjoyable quick read

Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2024

Verified Purchase

I bought this book after watching the movie and the PBS documentary. The book is very well written, moving, and kept me engaged throughout. In great detail the author focused on 3 subjects : growing up in and surviving through the Great depression generally and from Joe Rantz's perspective specifically; the rise of Hitler and Nazi Germany; and, of course, rowing. If you haven't read the book yet, watch the movie first, followed by the documentary, and then read the book.

2 people found this helpful

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Mrs B. Merseyside

brilliantly written and very interesting. couldn’t put this book down

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 8, 2024

Verified Purchase

I found myself drawn into this book and learning so much. The true story of the boys and their lives was so interesting and their achievements were phenomenal considering their individual circumstances. I enjoyed learning about the techniques of rowing - having never rowed in my life. The history accompanying the story was extremely well written. I highly recommend this book and look forward to watching the film

3 people found this helpful

Gaurav

Emotionally moving

Reviewed in India on May 24, 2022

Verified Purchase

This is one of the few Sports books apart from Andre Agassi's OPEN which was successful in moving me Emotionally. i have zero knowledge about Boats but yet the Author was able to explain me what all goes in a Race Shell Making and what role does each Team member perform in that shell during the race. the 18th and 19th Chapters literally brought tears to my eyes where the Author has described the Race day in Berlin, it was as if I was amongst the Olympic spectators experiencing the Race. a truly great Bestseller which can be picked up by any novice and he/she will also enjoy thoroughly.

Amazon Customer

Hard and true

Reviewed in Mexico on January 12, 2020

Verified Purchase

Incredible, I always read a novel during Christmas and this one will stay with me forever.

石神井太郎

ボート競技に興味がない人も楽しめる歴史小説です。

Reviewed in Japan on March 30, 2024

Verified Purchase

日本人にはあまり知られていないが、映画化も決まっていてアメリカ人にはお馴染みなストーリーだと思って読んでみました。ボート競技の勝敗だけでなく、それに関わる多くの人のドラマが織り込まれていて、ボート競技や歴史に興味がない人も楽しめる本です。

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Kindle Customer

What an inspiration this crew and sport are!

Reviewed in Australia on November 21, 2023

Verified Purchase

What an awesome book, I couldn't put it down. Although I have 2 rowers in the family, I got to understand so much more about the technicality of the sport but mostly what it takes to make a fine eight.... With Nazi Germany looming in the background and the impressive display of organisation and Machiavellian propaganda, this is an impressive real-life story to read.

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