If you are looking for a solid read about World War II and the 1936 Olympics, I highly recommend The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. Brown weaves a fascinating tale of how a team of poor farm boys won an Olympic gold medal for rowing.
Rowing was (and some might say still is) considered an elite sport. The sport of Ivy League colleges and definitely prominent on the East Coast. But a team of strong, competitive boys from Washington State University beat all the odds and won a gold medal. Their eight-man crew worked hard and learned to work as one unit.
Brown does a masterful job of creating a strong narrative so you feel as if you are reading a fast-paced, exciting novel rather than a true, nonfiction account. Slowly building the characters of the team, the reader soon is enmeshed in the lives of the rowers. We see how they struggle in the Great Depression to stay in school. Rowing becomes the one safety net for the boys. Their coach, a former Gold medalist, drives them hard, but Brown lets you see what the coach sees in these boys. It is their strength of character and trust in each other that makes this team special.
While their journey to Berlin is exciting, Brown deftly weaves life in Germany to contrast with the team. You glimpse Hitler and his regime and how Goebbels manipulates and builds the German propaganda machine. He brings you in to the German Third Reich as you see Leni Riefenstahl create her masterwork about the German Olympics in 1936.
The story focuses on Joe Rantz, a solid, farm boy, who is so poor that he has to wear the same sweater to every practice until it almost falls of him. Yet you see the strong, solid character that Joe has and as he makes his way through college and onto the varsity rowing team, you cheer his accomplishments and fear his failures.
The book paints a clear picture of what life in 1936 was like both in America and Germany. With backstories of love, determination, and finally victory, for those who love World War II, it is not a book to be missed.
Penguin, a company that has a strong line of World War II titles, publishes the book.
Rowing was (and some might say still is) considered an elite sport. The sport of Ivy League colleges and definitely prominent on the East Coast. But a team of strong, competitive boys from Washington State University beat all the odds and won a gold medal. Their eight-man crew worked hard and learned to work as one unit.
Brown does a masterful job of creating a strong narrative so you feel as if you are reading a fast-paced, exciting novel rather than a true, nonfiction account. Slowly building the characters of the team, the reader soon is enmeshed in the lives of the rowers. We see how they struggle in the Great Depression to stay in school. Rowing becomes the one safety net for the boys. Their coach, a former Gold medalist, drives them hard, but Brown lets you see what the coach sees in these boys. It is their strength of character and trust in each other that makes this team special.
While their journey to Berlin is exciting, Brown deftly weaves life in Germany to contrast with the team. You glimpse Hitler and his regime and how Goebbels manipulates and builds the German propaganda machine. He brings you in to the German Third Reich as you see Leni Riefenstahl create her masterwork about the German Olympics in 1936.
The story focuses on Joe Rantz, a solid, farm boy, who is so poor that he has to wear the same sweater to every practice until it almost falls of him. Yet you see the strong, solid character that Joe has and as he makes his way through college and onto the varsity rowing team, you cheer his accomplishments and fear his failures.
The book paints a clear picture of what life in 1936 was like both in America and Germany. With backstories of love, determination, and finally victory, for those who love World War II, it is not a book to be missed.
Penguin, a company that has a strong line of World War II titles, publishes the book.
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