The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown
Nonfiction

This inspiring, fast-paced, true story is the best book I read all year. Bursting with details about the sport of rowing and life during the Great Depression, this narrative places us right there in the (very narrow) boat with the nine men who overcame enormous odds to win the gold medal at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. But first, these young, working-class men from the University of Washington had to out-row the elite East Coast American teams. A magnificent feel-good story that focuses on its larger-than-life characters: the hulking oarsmen; the tiny coxswain who commanded the boat; the quiet, brilliant philosopher who perfected boatbuilding; and the coaches who assembled and inspired one of the world’s most perfect teams.