The Boys in the Boat

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics is a work of narrative nonfiction written by Daniel James Brown and published in 2013. Brown is known for his nonfiction works, including The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride (2009) and Facing the Mountain: A True Story of Japanese American Heroes in World War II (2021). The Boys in the Boat became a New York Times bestseller and won several awards, including the American Library Association’s Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. The book also inspired a PBS documentary titled The Boys of ’36.

Content Warning: The source material references the Holocaust, Adolf Hitler, Nazi Germany, poverty, and the abandonment of a child.

Summary

The narrative follows the University of Washington rowing team’s bid for gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics amid the Great Depression and Adolf Hitler’s rise to power. Joe Rantz serves as the central figure, whose personal transformation explores the text’s themes of teamwork, family, and economic class.

The text begins in 1933, when Joe is attending the University of Washington and tries out for the rowing team.