“Physiologists, in fact, have calculated that rowing a two-thousand-meter race—the Olympic standard—takes the same physiological toll as playing two basketball games back-to-back. And it exacts that toll in about six minutes.”–Daniel James Brown, The Boys in the Boat
This is an incredible story and I could not put the book down once I started reading it. Daniel James Brown masterfully tells the compelling story of nine young men young men from the University of Washington, who during the dark days of the depression, shocked the world with their Olympic gold medal performance in 1936. None of these young men came from privileged backgrounds and the story largely revolves around of these boys in particular, Joe Rantz. Joe’s story is heartbreaking as he navigates the world after being abandoned as young boy by his family. Rowing provides meaning, confidence, community, and hope to Joe.
Brown uses excerpts from the boys’ actual journals and he truly transports the reader back to the 1930s. The story is inspirational and the writing first class. If you’ve not read this book, don’t wait any longer.
Content Advisory: Neglect, abandonment, some language