| Book
Review by Frances Conklin
Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Olympics by Daniel James Brown, Viking Press 2013. A New York Times Bestseller. This heavily researched and beautifully written book takes the reader into the tragic and inspiring life of Joe Rantz from his childhood in Spokane, Washington, chronicling the effects the Great Depression and Dust Bowl had on Joe and his circumstances. With seemingly insurmountable odds, Joe survives the loss of his mother and abandonment several times by his father. Joe manages to make his own way to finish high school and be admitted to the University of Washington to pursue an engineering degree. Because a campus job, which he desperately needs like many other poor students to pay for college, comes with acceptance to the Husky rowing team, Joe tries out, ultimately making it on the freshman team. While many others fail to survive the hardships of relentless training, Joe finds purpose and a much-needed sense of belonging that sustains him through everything else. The telling of Joe’s story alternates with concurrent descriptions of events in Germany in the years of Hitler’s rise to power when much of the world is unaware or doesn’t care about the possibilities of the horrible consequences to unfold. Each chapter begins with a thoughtful quote about rowing by George Yeoman Pocock, a quiet unofficial coach and master crew boat builder who had profound influence on Joe, the team, its coaches and the sport in general. From Chapter 16: “Good thoughts have much to do with good rowing. It isn’t enough for the muscles of a crew to work in unison; their hearts and minds must also be as one.” From chapter 12 the author writes this: As Pocock talked, Joe grew mesmerized. It wasn’t just what the Englishman was saying, of the soft earthy cadence of his voice, it was the calm reverence with which he talked about the wood – as if there was something holy and sacred about it – that drew Joe in. The wood, Pocock murmered, taught us about survival, about overcoming difficulty, about prevailing over adversity, but it also taught us something about the underlying reason for surviving in the first place. Something about infinite beauty, about undying grace, about things larger and greater than ourselves. About the reasons we were all here. This book is full of informative, insightful and inspirational currents that last far longer than the turning of the final page. When feeling discouraged about the plight of America or the world, this book warmly and gently reminds us of our potential as individuals, as communities and as larger societies. The library also has a highly acclaimed abridged version of the book for youth readers. It carries the same title – Boys in the Boat. Quoting from the author’s forward notes in the youth version, “This is a story about growing up, about wrestling with hope and doubt, about dreaming big, about going for the gold. In that sense, it’s really a story about you.” Books donated and reviewed by Frances Conklin, frances@dogbarkpark.com |
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