The Boys in the Boat: The Inspiring True Story of Nine Americans and Their Journey to Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

Kindle Customer: 4.5 stars rounded up- not just a sports hero story, but of perseverance and grit in general for the 1936 US Olympic rowing team, hailing from University of Washington. I knew very little about rowing as a competitive sport, but it was super interesting. If at times some excessive detail intruded into the writing, it largely still enhanced the sense of time, place, and character which felt so necessary in this story. This book was released 10 years ago in 2013, and is primarily told from the POV of Joe Rantz, a young man of stunning determination and character, whose daughter served as one of Brown's most important background sources. I found interesting not just as a sports story, but as a historical one, leading out of World War I and up to/ through the Great Depression, with less direct focus on the familiar darkness of the actual World War II period. Incredible book to read in a time like our own.

United States on Nov 07, 2023

David H. Fish: This is a wonderful, true story. It chronicles nine working class college athletes and their coaches and other people who in the 1930s did a wonderful job of achievement and winning Olympic Gold in Berlin. It is a triumph against elitism and racism. You really can't to know these actual people and to be happy for their success.

Canada on Nov 02, 2023

Bernadette Crowe: The Boys in the Boat was a beautiful and inspirational story of a time in history where honesty, integrity, commitment, hard work and dedication was displayed in the lives of 9 young men who accomplished a seemingly unattainable goal. In spite of knowing the outcome in one scenario after another, the reader is kept on the edge of their seat waiting for a result as though it had never happened before. Daniel James Brown brings to life each of his characters and the world in which they live with amazing clarity. Once you pick up this book, it will be hard to put it down!

United States on Oct 08, 2023

Brian A. Foster: Daniel James Brown masterfully wove together stories of the individual, the team, colleges, national sports, international competition, brewing wars, worldwide depression, and even spirituality in his story of the 1936 Olympic rowing team, culminating in their performance in the Berlin Olympics of that year.

Just a fantastic job, and recommended not just for crew fans—of which I am still not one—but for anyone who appreciates the personal journey within the broader context of world events.

I only wish that Cal had beaten the Washington team and won the 1936 Olympics. Of course, I am a long-suffering Cal alum.

United States on Oct 07, 2023

Cody AllenCody Allen: This book is a lively and fun read about the young men who rowed crew at Washington University in the first half of the 20th century, eventually winning gold at the 1936 Olympics in Hitler’s Germany. It is centered around one particular rower, Joe Rantz, and his struggles in the economic depression of the late 1920’s. Through pure perseverance, he manages to survive a traumatic childhood, earn enough money to get himself a University education, get married, have a family, and live a happy life (along with winning a gold medal at the Olympics). His story is truly inspiring, a testament to what any one of us might achieve if we set our mind to it.

While most reviews of this book will focus on the sport of rowing or the Nazi’s use of propaganda to convince the world they weren’t an authoritarian government bent on ethnically cleansing their country, I’d like to take a different angle. For me, the arc of this book was Joe Rantz’s transformation from a lonesome man doing his best to survive to a man integral to the group in the boat. It is the story of a fierce individual finding a community which loves and supports him, and in fact would have been unable to win...

United States on Sep 20, 2023

david canford: An account of the rowing team from Seattle that achieved Olympic glory at the 1936 Berlin Olympics and a great book. True, some of the rowing details are not my favourite but the author describes the races in a compelling way. What I really enjoyed was reading about the lives of the characters, and that of Joe Rantz in particular, who the author got to interview before his death, and how tough life was back in the depression but how he didn’t give up. It’s also a great insight into Washington state at that time. You will also get to read about the preparation for and staging of how the 1936 Olympics, and how Hitler successfully used the games as propaganda so successfully that those participating came away with the impression that Nazi Germany was a ‘nice’ place.
Even if like me, you’re not a rowing enthusiast, I would still recommend this wonderful work.

United Kingdom on Aug 30, 2023

Spoonsoz: Thank you so much. I laughed, I cried, I felt the frustration in getting the boat to hum. But most of all I felt humbled.

Australia on Aug 29, 2023

Abhishek Malpani: This is the story of Joe Rantz who was a member of the Washington Rowing team & won a Gold medal in the 1936 Berlin Olympic. Author provides a lot of background of each character in the book which shows his deep study for each character.

This story tells you that if you have a good team who can give their 100% for team work, then anything can be achieved. If you have purpose in life, you can overcome all hardships which you face.

After reading each chapter w.r.t Washington rowing race / olympic event, I started to search those videos on Youtube which are available. This book makes me want to watch old Leni Riefinstahl footage from the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. It feels so connected.

"The very problems you must overcome also support you and make you stronger in overcoming them."

At the end of the book, I was so connected to each character that I now wanted to visit the Washington Rowing Hall of Fame to see those Shell House, Medal & that winning rowing boat.

India on Dec 13, 2021

Richard Newbold: Enjoyed the core of the story, essentially the true tale of Joe Rantz, who endured growing up in the US Pacific North West, in the aftermath of WW1 and the Great Depression, to claw his way into University and the rowing team, and - right place, right time - become one of the US rowing eight which struck gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Along the way Jo learns the life lesson of trusting your friends and colleagues to achieve greatness through collaborative venture, and carried off his childhood sweetheart, Joyce Simdars. Joyce, though never touching an oar, so to speak, was a heroine of at least equal measure, overcoming poverty and disappointment, and ... well ... being a woman, got to University as well, and became Joes life partner to wonderful effect.

So far, so good, what I didn't enjoy was the spurious attempt to shoehorn the Nazis, and their undoubted coup in extracting every atom of propaganda from their Olympics, as the key counterpoint to the story. The truth being, that Nazism barely impinged on Jo and the rowers' preparation and performance in the race, and made the book overwritten, repetitive, clunky and trite - and about 200 pages too long. Never mind, I...

United Kingdom on Nov 18, 2021