the boys in the boat

i just completed one of the best books i've read in a while, the boys in the boat, a non-fiction narrative by daniel james brown. recommended by my friend rose, the writing style and underlying themes are reminiscent of laura hillenbrand's unbroken, one of my all-time favorite books/authors. 

both books are based on events which took place in the 1920-30s, although the boys in the boat focuses on the rise of the nazi militia while unbroken focuses on the battles in the the pacific. both books are written from the perspective of the protagonist, who incidentally both make it to the 1936 olympics in berlin, germany. both books captured my undivided attention and made it difficult for me to lift my eyes from the pages, the writing so descriptive that i felt like i was watching the poughkeepsie regatta from the eastern bank of the hudson river.

marist college did a great job archiving the history of crew and i managed to find the program and results from the 1936 poughkeepsie regatta where washington swept the freshman 2 mile, jv 3 mile, and varsity 4 mile races! what an incredible year ...

i've never seen a crew race before, but now i can't wait to see a regatta!