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History. Sports & Recreations. Nonfiction. HTML:The #1 New York Times�bestselling story about the American Olympic rowing triumph in Nazi Germany�from the author of Facing the Mountain. Soon to be a major motion picture directed by George Clooney 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.… (more)
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An amazing balance of human interest, history and sport. Joe Rantz's story had my mothers heart wanting to give his ten year old self a big hug. His story and the man he became is simply heart breaking and admirable. He and the other boys wormed their way under my skin and I found myself holding my breath more than once during their races.
The book went back and forth between the US and Germany. The snow job they pulled on the world during the Olympics, convincing many others that they were a progressive and fair nation. There were small moments of humor too, as when the German people greeted our athletes with a raised arm and shouted, Heil, Hitler, our athletes raised their arms and answered back, "Heil, Roosevelt.
The sport of course took up much of the book from the scull maker, Popcock to the coach, Al Ubrickson. The hard work that went into training, and of course the races, competitions between the East and West coast. The lives of the men in the boat and what happened to them after.
All in all I found this a stirring read, a wonderful book.
That was my reaction before reading the book, but holy hell, what a story. It's about the legendary 1936 Olympic rowing team from the University of Washington, comprised mainly of "uncouth" working class boys
Of course, the 1936 Olympics were held in Berlin. While we're learning about the crew members, their coaches, and possibly the best boat maker in the world, we also learn about how the Nazis viewed the event as perfect propaganda for their Aryan paradise. They cleansed the city of the most obvious anti-semitism and hired infamous Leni Riefenstahl to film the monstrous film Olympia. Oh, and they clearly tried to rig the rowing competition by changing the rules and giving the Americans the worst lane.
A couple quibbles. I don't like hagiography, and would have preferred a more warts-and-all portrayal of the athletes. I would have liked a more thorough discussion of decision to participate in the 1946 Nazi-fest at all. And I would have liked a more complete picture of Joe Rantz's stepmother Thula, who in this book is a stepmother straight out of fairy tales and is just too despicable to be believed.
If THE
Throughout this book, juxtaposed against Joe's and the boys' story is Hitler's creation of the fictional Germany that he wanted to present to the world during the Olympics there. As he hides the real Germany, the US ignores him, and the boys and other athletes just work on getting there.
When the story was over, I didn't want it to be over. So I read the endnotes. You'll probably do that, too.
Joe Rantz grew up extremely poor during the depression. His mother died when he was young and when his father remarried, Joe's stepmother, Thula, was very unhappy, so she, Joe's father, and their kids left Joe behind to fend for himself on a couple of occasions. Thula never wanted to take
I'm not “into” rowing, but this was really good. Some of the technical aspects that described the rowing, I skimmed over, but everything else was really interesting and quite riveting. Not only did we learn about rowing, Joe's life, and life during the Depression, there was also discussion of Hitler and the Nazis in Germany leading up to the Olympics that were held in Belin. All very interesting and I was reading “on the edge of my seat” during some of the races!
"...Bolles sometimes spoke of life-transforming experiences. He held out the prospect of becoming part of something larger than themselves, of finding in themselves something they did not yet know they possessed, of growing from boyhood to manhood. At times he dropped his voice a bit and shifted his tone and cadence and talked of near mystical moments on the water – moments of pride, elation and deep affection for one’s fellow oarsmen, moments they would remember, cherish and recount to their grandchildren when they were old men. Moments, even, that would bring them nearer to God.
We all hope for -- and if lucky enough, recall for a lifetime -- these moments of transcendence.
It helps that this is one of those too-good-to-be-true stories, full of many classic elements: underdogs beating the odds, people learning to love and trust each other before they can succeed, working class boys out-doing East Coast old money at their own game, not to mention Good Old American hard work and perseverance defeating the Evil Nazis in their own back yard, all against the backdrop of the Great Depression and the tension of the build-up to World War Two.
The local color really helped, too - I am familiar with most of the places in Washington where the action takes place, so that probably helped me enjoy the book more than I would have otherwise.
The frilly style soon settles into a companionable rhythm and the reader discovers Joe's world and slowly comes
I put down the book with a sense of having known the oarsmen and admired their determination, perseverance and talent. A engrossing and inspiring read!
The Boys in the Boat is an engaging Cinderella story of a young team of rowers who came from very humble origins to win Olympic glory, despite the overwhelming odds against
Highly recommended for sports fans and anyone who enjoyed Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand. One side note: as this book is focused mainly on a single team, readers interested in Olympic history might prefer a more general work on the Berlin Games; at times, the backdrop of the games themselves is slightly wanting here.
The book is about the rowing team from the University of Washington who fought their way to the Berlin
The only thing negative I found about this book was that it was a little hard to get into. In fact, I read the first two or three pages about three separate evenings before finally making it through the first chapter. So, it was a bit of a slow read for me – maybe just because of how it was written – more like a documentary than a gripping story. However, I did enjoy the book despite the fact that I have never rowed in a boat or even really paid much attention to regattas or boat racing. I found the details quite interesting, and when the races were being described, I felt as if I were on the edge of my seat watching them for the first time. I thought the story was well done, and I enjoyed learning about this event in history. 5 of 5 stars.