“What mattered more than how hard a man rowed was how well everything he did in the boat harmonized with what the other fellows were doing. And a man couldn’t harmonize with his crewmates unless he opened his heart to them.”― Daniel James Brown, The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
With prose that reads more like a literary novel than non-fiction, The Boys in the Boat author Daniel James Brown writes from an omniscient viewpoint, and with it he provides incredible detail into the depression-era struggles of this ragtag group of nine boys and their transformation into the world-renowned team that won Olympic gold under seemingly hopeless circumstances.
Brown expertly weaves in mini-biographies of all of the story's central players, including the coaches who saw the potential for Olympic gold, the craftsman who built the boats, family members who irreversibly impacted the boys lives, and the boys themselves -- some who experienced extreme trauma as youngsters, but did not give up.
More than just a fascinating true story, The Boys in the Boat is a superb metaphor for leadership, and for the incredible transformation a group of people can achieve when they subdue individual ego and focus their collective will on a common goal.
“It is hard to make that boat go as fast as you want to. The enemy, of course, is resistance of the water, as you have to displace the amount of water equal to the weight of men and equipment, but that very water is what supports you and that very enemy is your friend. So is life: the very problems you must overcome also support you and make you stronger in overcoming them."—George Yeoman Pocock, boat builder
