What readers think of The Boys in the Boat, plus links to write your own review.

This is an an amazing story about an amazing group of young men. The author wove in the history of the times with the personal story of the lead character. I learned a great deal about rowing and the Olympics. A must read!

If you are a junior or senior, male or female, sports enthusiast or history buff, a lover of ideas or action, or if you thrive on suspense, this book will capture your mind as well as your heart. Daniel Brown literally puts you into the time and the places that he describes by providing vivid details about everything he introduces. You taste the dust, and falter in the winds, and pull your sweater tighter around you to protect yourself from the driving rain. As the characters experience hope, pride, frustration and elation, so will you. This is a book where, even though you most likely know the outcome (the author tells you from the beginning), you hold your breath as you turn every page. The book contains enough material to inspire a hundred great sermons, but it is not sermonic. This is a truly great story that will make you care a lot about something you may have very little knowledge about, and attach you to real people you have likely never heard of. You don't just read this book, you experience it, and as a result of that experience, like with all significant experiences, you emerge enriched, invigorated, and maybe, even a little bit wiser. When I was a little girl and responded to everything that I was told to do by asking "Why?" The answer was frequently, "Because." In the unlikely probability that you might respond to my recommendation that you read "The Boys in the Boat" by asking, "Why?" My answer would be the same: Simply, "Because." (I promise, you won't be sorry!)

Our book club meets at the library and we read Unbroken about a year ago so I wasn't sure about another book if it was the same. I'm glad the club picked it or I would have missed out on another really good book.

I was impressed with not just the historical facts but the underlining message.

We meet December at a pie and coffee shop. I can hardly wait to get with the other members to compare notes.I am the member who always asks, "which actor would you like to see play each character?"

I wrote to the author; Daniel James Brown regarding what I like to do at the meetings and he shot me a note that said,"save the spot for me to play George the canoe builder." I never expected to hear from him.

On his site I noticed he wrote two other books that also sound very interesting.

Although its subtitle implies that THE BOYS IN THE BOAT is about the American eight-oar rowing crew in the 1936 Olympics, the book is more than that. It's mostly about what led to the formation of the crew. Also, the story is made personal by its concentration on one of the boys, Joe Rantz.

If THE BOYS IN THE BOAT was fiction, I wouldn't have enjoyed it. That's because the whole thing is so unlikely: Joe overcame such odds in his personal life. None of the boys came from money when they suddenly emerged from Seattle, a city few were familiar with then, to beat the prestigious Eastern schools (e.g., Yale and Harvard). The boat and the boys dealt with several disadvantages in Germany, both before and during their races, only to beat their competition. None of this story would be believable if I didn't know it was true.

Throughout this book, juxtaposed against Joe's and the boys' story, is Hitler's creation of the fictional Germany that he wanted to present to the world during the Olympics there. As he hides the real Germany, the US ignores him, and the boys and other athletes just work on getting there.

When the story was over, I didn't want it to be over. So I read the end notes. You'll probably do that, too.