Boys in the Boat

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.