The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

370 pages

"Out of the depths of the Depression comes 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. With rowers who were the sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the University of Washington's eight-oar crew 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 challenging the German boat 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." -Back Cover

I LOVED this book. It was so inspiring and beautifully written. Daniel Brown weaves the story of rowing, Joe's childhood and challenges, and what was unfolding in Germany at the time incredibly well. There are so many great life lessons in this story, from George Pocock's philosophical musings on life and rowing, to Joe's indomitable spirit, to the eventual camaraderie of 8 boys in a boat rowing as one, to the challenges of the Great Depression.

Joe Rantz's mother died when he was young. He had an older brother Fred who married and then Joe's father married Fred's wife's twin Thula, who was 17 years his junior. Thula was an accomplished violinist and came from a family with some money. Joe's dad, Harry, was a dreamer and she was captivated by his dreams of inventing but the reality was much different. Harry struggled to make a living and kept moving the family from place to place, living in a gold mining community, shanty towns, and then trying to build a life in Sequim. Thula was never happy and resented Joe. Harry & Thula had three or four children together and when Joe was 15, they packed up the car and left their half-finished house, but not before Thula and Harry told Joe that he couldn't come with them. I just couldn't wrap my head around a father and a stepmother leaving a teenage boy behind to fend for himself. They didn't even tell him where they were going and for years Joe had no idea that they were living in Seattle. There were times during this story that I wished I could have slapped Thula silly for the way she treated Joe and then punch Harry for allowing it to happen. Joe stayed in Sequim and lived in the half-finished house, doing odd jobs for a neighbor family who became his family and trying to keep himself fed and in school. Eventually he made it to the University of Washington where he decided to try rowing.

I loved learning about rowing and crew. I also loved the fact that we just went to Seattle this last summer so I was familiar with some of the places that were mentioned. Sequim is where my husband thought a bison was going to kill him at the Animal Game Farm. I didn't know much about rowing but it's an amazing sport, full of tradition and history. It takes a strong man to make it onto a rowing crew and then to become a successful crew. Joe's freshman year the freshman coach Tom Bolles and the head coach Al Ulbrickson had a lot of talent to work with. Berkley was Washington's main competition and after competing with each other, they'd go on to Poughkeepsie and the other east coast races where's Joe's crew won their freshman year. The next few years Al kept rearranging the boys looking for the perfect crew until he got his Olympic crew of 1936. George Pocock (who designed and built the boats) became a mentor to Joe and taught him a lot of important lessons.

The heart and soul of those 8 boys, their coaches, and Joe's fiancee, Joyce, are something to be admired and emulated. Joe worked incredibly hard during the summers to be able to afford to stay in school. He was often teased by the other boys for wearing the same sweater day after day but it was all he had. He felt anger towards Harry and Thula but he didn't let it eat away at him and ultimately let it go. I even felt some compassion towards Thula after reading that her mother would only allow her children to come over once a week for a bowl of Cream of Wheat when they were living in a shanty town and barely getting by. That explained a lot about Thula. She learned to treat Joe like she did from her mother. The boys learned to row as one and as a whole became something greater than their individual parts. Their struggle to get to the Olympics after earning the right to go showed just how much good people can do when they work together. There's a brief mention of Louis Zamperini who competed in the same year and has an amazing story of his own in Unbroken.

The men of this era are called the Greatest Generation and I really think that's true. Their characters were formed through hardship and trial. They knew how to work and work hard. They knew about sacrifice and suffering. They tried to make better lives for themselves and they served their country, many giving their lives. There's a really sweet part at the end where the author talks about how Joyce wanted Joe's married life to be. She was such a blessing for Joe. I also loved the part after the Olympics where Joe realizes that he is finally whole and ready to go home. Our experiences make us who we are and I'm not sure he would have ended up where he did without all the adversity he faced.

This is such an inspiring story. I will definitely read it again. I love that there's a young reader version of this book. It is going to be one of our summer reads next summer as a family.