The Boys in the Boat

Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for

Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
Daniel James Brown
©2013 by Blue Bear Endeavors, LLC
Penguin Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC
ISBN: 978-0-670-02581-7
Estimated reading time of review: 5 minutes

Review
By Katie Fleming
In The Boys in the Boat, Daniel James Brown, author of The Indifferent Stars Above and Under a Flaming
Sky, recounts the inspiring story of the University of Washington’s rowing team and their journey to the
1936 Olympics. He centers the story on Joe Rantz, a student whose family was deeply impacted by the
Great Depression. Because of the hardships of that time, Joe needed the guaranteed on-campus job a
spot on the rowing team would provide.

While Joe’s rowing mates may not have experienced the poverty and severity of the hardships he and
his family faced, they grappled with intense competition, personal challenges, and life in that politically
charged era. Together, as a team, they persevered, learned to work as a precise and synchronized force,
and triumphed against the odds to compete among the world’s most elite teams.

Determination
Athletics weren’t a central part of life for many Americans in the 1930s. The Great Depression had taken
an immense toll, resulting in financial instability and tremendous upheaval. At that time, one in four
Americans had no job or prospect of finding one. More than one million people in the nation were
homeless. Banks in virtually every town had closed their doors, taking with them the savings accounts
of people who depended on what they had squirreled away to survive.

Brown explains that times were particularly tough for Joe Rantz, a freshman at the University of Wash-
ington. College was perhaps his only opportunity to rise out of poverty. With his mother dying when he
was a young child and his father abandoning him at age 10, Joe began living on his own and working

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The Boys in the Boat Daniel James Brown

hard for food and shelter at a young age. His one shot at remaining enrolled in the school was finding a
place on coach Al Ulbrickson’s rowing team, which couldn’t provide him with a scholarship but would
guarantee him a job on campus.

Joe was vying for a spot against the sons of lawyers and businessmen who were faring better than
others through the Depression and could afford to devote time to becoming elite athletes. He was also
competing against farm boys, loggers, and fishermen enrolling to seek out a better life. Fortunately
for Joe, it wasn’t wealth that made for a great rower, nor was it simply brute strength. The rowers who
would find a place on the team needed to be strong but also graceful, quick, committed to precision,
and teachable.

Brown explains that Joe was determined to find his place. He could tolerate the physical and psycho-
logical demands, and he could outwork others. When Ulbrickson demanded superhuman stamina, an
indomitable will, intellectual mastery, and an elimination of ego, Joe delivered, earning the number 3
seat.

Perseverance
Brown recounts that Joe and the other members of his team followed a brutal workout regimen through
fair skies and frigid temperatures. Six days a week, they rowed through winds, sleet, snow, rain, dark
skies, and sunshine. The team of freshman rowers built camaraderie, which helped them synchronize
their movements, a skill that’s essential for performing at an elite level.

True synchronization requires every team member to execute their movements flawlessly. The team
chanted “MIB! MIB!” to remind one another to keep their mind in the boat. Their coach moved the men
from one seat to another to find the perfect arrangement and rotated them in and out of the boat to
determine the right mix for speed and power. Each member rose to the requirements and put in more
effort than required, recognizing that no rower was guaranteed a seat.

In little time, they set course records, outpaced school rivals, and outperformed the moneyed teams of
the East Coast. They endured physical, mental, and interpersonal challenges, which showed them not
only how essential it was to persevere, put in the work, and perform on an individual level but also to
learn to excel as a team. Only nine months after picking up their oars for the first time, the crew became
the national freshman champions.

Brown shares that the University of Washington team became the talk of the American rowing world.
Looking ahead to an Olympic year, he shares that many speculated that these freshman rowers would
be an impressive team to put forward in the 1936 games.

Pressures
Coach Ulbrickson intended to take this team to the Olympic games and win the gold medal. Their rivals
at Cal had won Olympic gold in 1928 and 1932, but the University of Washington team was determined
to represent America in Berlin.

Brown affirms that talk of the Olympics fueled hostilities among the rowers. Since no spot was assured,
the men’s competitiveness intensified. Icy stares, locker slams, curses, and grudges were the norm in
the shell house. Ulbrickson channeled their fighting spirit into athleticism on the water. However, the
now-sophomore rowers were struggling and sloppy, too emotional to outperform the senior and junior
rowers.
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The Boys in the Boat Daniel James Brown

Ulbrickson let Joe and several others know they were on the verge of losing their seats. He told them
their laziness, lack of drive, and lackluster precision were affecting the team. Walking out of the coach’s
office, the men committed to having one another’s backs and getting the team back on track.

Brown states that in no time, the sophomore team whipped into shape, soon beating the other poten-
tial varsity crews handily. They worked through the minor tweaks that would be the make-or-break
elements in their races. Ulbrickson, still doubtful that they could perform as well as they had the prior
year, promoted the whole sophomore boat to varsity status, believing them to be the best crew he’d
ever coached.

Performance
Brown explains that the following year was pivotal. The team returned to campus needing to prove to
Ulbrickson that they were the ones to bet on for Olympic success. Their coach upped the stakes, promis-
ing the season would be the most grueling one yet.

Joe and his teammates continued to experience ups and downs in their rowing, impressing and disap-
pointing their coach. Through a team mentor, Joe learned that he needed to trust his fellow rowers
and be an extension of them. That message was transformative. The team took it to heart and began
performing consistently. Ulbrickson regained his confidence in them.

The newly motivated team set new course records, executed their rows precisely, and became what
Ulbrickson called a “symphony of swinging blades.” They claimed the national championship title, and
later, shined at their Olympic trials.

Brown affirms that it was an unnerving experience to arrive in Hitler’s Germany for the Olympic games,
and it was humbling to see the athletic prowess of the world’s most elite teams. However, the team
committed to their training. Not letting their fears and anxieties shake them, they won their preliminar-
ies handily and, despite a late start and some mid-race setbacks, won their race six-tenths of a second
ahead of the next team.

Bottom Line
While The Boys in the Boat centers on a group of athletes, Daniel James Brown distills their story into
lessons that can apply to any team aiming for high performance. Some of the most essential takeaways
include not underestimating the power of your will, trusting your team, committing to synchronization,
and mastering your emotions. This book is a must read for any leader intent on molding the raw talent
of their employees into an elite, fluid team that excels in their work, and it’s an equally valuable book for
individual performers willing to sync with their colleagues for more electric wins.

About the Reviewer

Katie Fleming is a professional writer from Ohio who specializes in content creation for small business
leaders. She’s also the cofounder of www.owneractions.com, an online platform that helps entrepre-
neurs work through the challenges of starting, growing, and exiting their ventures.

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The Boys in the Boat Daniel James Brown

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