Finished it today. LOVED it!

I knew a little bit about the history of the Pacific Northwest…
I knew shamefully little about the dust bowl or the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam…
I knew absolutely nothing about competitive rowing…

I learned a powerful lot about all of them in the last four days.

Nine boys from working-class families arrive at the University of Washington in the early 1930s, beaten but not broken by the depression and its aftermath – and spend the next four years training to row for gold in the 1936 Olympic events in Berlin. It’s a slice of history, from the perspective of people who lived it, as they lived it. It’s a real life Cinderella story with better than a fairy tale ending. I’m so glad I took the time to get to know coach Ulbrickson, master shellmaker and sage George Pocock, scrappy Joe Rantz and the rest of The Boys in the Boat. Acknowledging that it’s early in the year, this is the best book I’ve read in 2024. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.