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The Boys in the Boat

Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
Sep 08, 2018julia_sedai rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did! First of all, I'm not into books that seem overly American to me and also, I don't know a thing about rowing. However, this book changed my mind. I liked the American-ness of it - it's actually more of a rivalry between the East and West Coast and also between California and Washington, and not so much about US being superior to every other nation. (Although they did win at the Olympics, which I thought was awesome, even though I'm not American.) The best part was that this was during the Great Depression, and these boys had to work hard ... not just for rowing, but for life. They overcame all of their challenges. They persevered till the end. I had a great respect for them after reading this. It's a really inspiring book. There was also a lot about what was going on in Germany at this time, which I thought was well done. It puts everything into a more global perspective. As for rowing, it made me want to start watching it. Each race was written in an exciting way; I never got tired of it. This was really well written and entertaining. I recommend it for anyone. I'm glad I read it for my book club otherwise I probably would have never picked it up, and it's worth reading for sure.