Just Keep Rowing

In which we learn a lot about swing

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

Stars: 4.5

52 Book Club Summer Reading Challenger #24 - Biography of an Olympian 

When I saw this prompt, I knew it was the perfect nudge for me to finally download and listen to Brown’s book about the University of Washington’s crew team that won gold in Berlin in 1936. Nothing like an alternating heart-wrenching and heart-warming story of 8 men who gave it all to row to victory against some crazy odds. Brown layers his book with the history of rowing in America and Great Britain, explaining the basics of the sport and the importance of each man in the boat. And throughout, Brown flashes to Germany, highlighting the rise of Hitler and the advent of the Nazi propaganda machine, driven by Leni Riefenstahl and Joseph Goebbels, effectively illustrating how the 1936 Olympics in Berlin served to mask the horrible actions of the Nazi Party. Brown’s book is everything I like in a popular history book, it ranges from place and time but the narrative is easy to follow and Brown ties it all together at the end (I was sobbing). And you know, even though I know they won the gold in 1936, it was still really suspenseful.

The other wonderful thing about The Boys in the Boat is that the audiobook is narrated by Edward Hermann. Yes, the dad for Gilmore Girls, but also the voice of Ken Burns documentaries like The Roosevelts and The Emperor of All Maladies. He has narrated some of my favorite books (anything by David MacCullough, Washington by Chernow, and Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin) but sadly, since he passed away in 2014, there are just a few of his history narrations left. It was a joy to get in my car and hear him; somehow he makes the Boston commute less painful.

So I’m off to watch some more YouTubes about rowing - I've already lost a few hours going down that rabbit hole. Also, my former boss rowed in a championship winning 8 at Princeton, we worked together for ten years and I am just now reading this book? I’m ready for deep dives into wooden shells and George Pocock, heading to the Head of the Charles this fall, and watching Geoerge Clooney direct the movie.