Book Review: The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

Some stories are so unbelievable that there doesn't seem any way they could possibly be true. Before reading The Boys in the Boat, a novel about, of all things, a college crew team, I couldn't figure out why anyone would want to read this book. Afterwards, I can't believe it took until 2013 to tell this amazing story.

The book covers the University of Washington crew team in the years leading up to the 1936 Olympics. Taking place in the 30s, the impact of the Great Depression is rampant, although the effect is different person to person. Within this milieu, we follow several students as they try out for and make the crew team. The main character of the story is Joe Rantz, a glum and aloof student who is just barely affording his education. The book illuminates Joe's childhood - it has to be read to be believed, but suffice to say there should be a limit on the number of times a kid can be abandoned.

Despite having no prior experience in crew, the team comes together, impressing as a freshman team, improving as a JV team, and finally competing for an Olympic berth as a varsity team. While regattas are won, the team really rises and falls, experiencing a multitude of hardships during the season.

The book also peaks in in Germany as they prepare for the Olympics where they would try to prove to the world that they were not savages. The foci of these portions are Hermann Goebbels and Lani Riefenstahl, the director of propaganda and the great filmmaker, respectively, as they move both forward and against each other to turn the Berlin Olympics into a German triumph (while doing their best to hide what they were doing to Jews and Social Democrats).

I'm sure you can imagine the ending, but let me set it up: The University of Washington team rowing in the Olympic finals against the best teams in the world. The "stroke", the most important rower in the boat, is terribly sick and zoned out. And the team is so far out in the lake that they didn't even hear the command to start.

And this is all real! I'm really simplifying the story here, but it is fascinating, and Brown does a great job of explaining the mechanics of crew while also delving into the lives of the students (and others impacted by the Depression and the Dust Bowl) and how this all fits into the world, all with crisp prose that keeps you turning pages.

One of the toughest things you can do is create an interesting story with an ending that is already common or easily accessible knowledge (just see how that Prequel trilogy turned out). You can look up who won the eight-man crew gold in the 1936 Olympics, but you can't know its meaning without reading this book.

Truly great read! Nine out of ten hot dogs!