Summary and Analysis of The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics: Based on the Book by Daniel James Brown

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This short summary and analysis of The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown includes:
 

• Historical context
• Chapter-by-chapter summaries
• Detailed timeline of key events
• Profiles of the main characters
• Important quotes
• Fascinating trivia
• Glossary of terms
• Supporting material to enhance your understanding of the original work

 
About The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown:
 
No one expected a ragtag crew team from the University of Washington to rise to the top of their sport—much less go to the Olympics in Germany. It was the 1930s, at the height of the Great Depression and the dawn of the Nazi party’s ascendance to power, and the school had never been able to beat the Ivy League teams, but coach Al Ulbrickson had big ambitions—he just needed the right athletes.
 
Over the next few years, the boys of the UW rowing team endured grueling days of training and countless setbacks. In the end, it was their collective dedication that brought them to compete in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin—and beat the team rowing for Adolf Hitler.
 
A New York Times bestseller and the inspiration for the PBS documentary The Boys of ’36, Daniel James Brown’s The Boys in the Boat is a celebration of the human spirit and a compelling biography of a unique rowing team that brought home Olympic gold.
 
The summary and analysis in this ebook are intended to complement your reading experience and bring you closer to a great work of nonfiction.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Nov 15, 2016
• ISBN: 9781504043083

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Summary and Analysis of

The Boys in the Boat

Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

Based on the Book by Daniel James Brown

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The summary and analysis in this ebook are meant to complement your reading experience and bring you closer to a great work of nonfiction. This ebook is not intended as a substitute for the work that it summarizes and analyzes, and it is not authorized, approved, licensed or endorsed by the work’s author or publisher. Worth Books makes no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this ebook.

Contents

Context

Overview

Summary

Timeline

Cast of Characters

Direct Quotes and Analysis

Trivia

What’s That Word?

Critical Response

About Daniel James Brown

For Your Information

Bibliography

Copyright

Context

Author Daniel James Brown didn’t know very much about the sport of rowing when he began to research and write The Boys in the Boat. As he described to World Rowing, This story literally walked into my living room one day. He was introduced to his neighbor’s father, who was on the rowing team that won gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. That man was Joe Rantz.

The year was 2007 and Joe Rantz, a fan of Brown’s earlier works, and living under hospice care at his daughter’s house, regaled Brown with stories of his youth and his incredible journey. From growing up during the Depression to attending the University of Washington, to participating in the Olympics, Rantz’s story was exceptional and inspiring.

It is no surprise that Rantz—a team player, through and through—gave his permission for Daniel James Brown to write about his story—as long as he told the story of the whole crew.

For today’s audience, rowing, or crew, might be considered