Good day to you all, SoBros Network Patreon subscribers. Welcome to the SoBros Book Club, on which I will share some book recommendations for those of you who enjoy taking in the written word. Today, we’re discussing The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown.
So yeah – the full title for this one is actually The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, but I’m not in the business of putting entire freaking paragraphs into a headline. So, I’ll just keep it short to start with. I was gifted this book at Christmas a few years back, but didn’t get a chance to start reading it until the following summer. I don’t know if it was reading it at that time of the year, if it’s the way this book paints a wonderful picture of the great outdoors in the Pacific Northwest, or what – but I think it has great summer time vibes to it. Every summer since then, I’ll flip this one open at this time of year, and just read a few pages.
(Part of) The synopsis from Goodreads:
Daniel James Brown’s robust book tells the story of the University of Washington’s 1936 eight-oar crew and their epic quest for an Olympic gold medal, a team that transformed the sport and grabbed the attention of millions of Americans. The sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the boys defeated elite rivals first from eastern and British universities and finally the German crew rowing for Adolf Hitler in the Olympic games in Berlin, 1936.
The emotional heart of the story lies with one rower, Joe Rantz, a teenager without family or prospects, who rows not for glory, but to regain his shattered self-regard and to find a place he can call home. The crew is assembled by an enigmatic coach and mentored by a visionary, eccentric British boat builder, but it is their trust in each other that makes them a victorious team. They remind the country of what can be done when everyone quite literally pulls together—a perfect melding of commitment, determination, and optimism.
Okay – let’s get this part out of the way first. It’s not like rowing is the most exciting sport in the world. I’ll give you that. You might look at this and think, “why the hell would I care about a rowing team?” And, by and large, I would’ve conceded after that prior to my reading of The Boys in the Boat. But, once I got into this story (and it did admittedly take a couple chapters to get into it), I absolutely could not put it down. Daniel James Brown does a fantastic job of presenting this story as a nice little slice of Americana that many of us probably never knew even existed. I came away with a deep appreciation of this book for three main reasons.
First, there’s a nerdy part of me that likes uncovering history that I had no prior knowledge of. Going into this book, I couldn’t have even told you if they held rowing competitions at the Olympics. So, getting that in-depth look at an entire branch of society and sports that I had no idea even existed was a lot of fun. I can’t tell you how many times I set this book down to Google some factoid or story that Brown mentioned in passing.
Second, it is, plain and simple, a pretty amazing sports story about overcoming the odds, etc.. The central figures of this book all have very different paths and very different, interesting lives that lead them to rowing. It’s a prime case study in developing team chemistry and the things we can accomplish if we work together. And, of course, any time you’re taking on Hitler’s Germany, you’re going to get drama points from me.
Finally, it is that Americana – that sort of ‘slice of life’ that you see in studying these people away from the sport. It’s a trip back in time, if you will. Simpler times and simpler lives – that sort of thing. For me, I appreciated that because it did, in a weird way, put me more in tune with my surroundings. It could really take me out of whatever was troubling me that day and put me in the middle of a bygone era. It was like putting my phone down and just watching the trees bend in the wind around me. It was informative, inspiring, and centering.
This is one I found most enjoyable sitting outside under a shade tree reading as the sun set before me. But, I’ll say this – I don’t think you could beat reading this one by the lake/river in the summer time.
Other SoBros Book Club Features
Fevre Dream
The Junction Boys
Meddling Kids
Playing for Pizza
Pretty Paper
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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