For readers of "Unbroken," out of the depths of the Depression comes an irresist
ible story about beating the odds and finding hope in the most desperate of time
s--the improbable, intimate account of how nine working-class boys from the Amer
ican West showed the world at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin what true grit really
meant.
It was an unlikely quest from the start. With a team composed of the so
ns of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the University of Washington's eig
ht-oar crew team was never expected to defeat the elite teams of the East Coast
and Great Britain, yet they did, going on to shock the world by defeating the Ge
rman team rowing for Adolf Hitler. The emotional heart of the tale lies with Joe
Rantz, a teenager without family or prospects, who rows not only to regain his
shattered self-regard but also to find a real place for himself in the world. Dr
awing on the boys' own journals and vivid memories of a once-in-a-lifetime share
d dream, Brown has created an unforgettable portrait of an era, a celebration of
a remarkable achievement, and a chronicle of one extraordinary young man's pers
onal quest.
