The 1936 Olympics were hosted in Berlin by Nazi Germany. Meant to showcase Aryan superiority, the Germans fully expected their athletes to win gold at most events. The marquee events for the rowing competitions is the 9 person boat, with a coxswain and eight rowers. The Germans were very good at rowing, and so were many other European countries. The United States sent a crew from the University of Washington to participate, and despite all odds both at home and in Germany, they won their race and returned to the United States with gold medals.
This is a story of grit and determination when facing what seem unsurmountable obstacles. The author focuses on the life of Joe Rantz, a man from Washington who was one of the crewmen on the winning Olympic team. Joe's mother died young when Joe was only three. She loved music and this is what Joe remembered her most for. After his mother's death Joe was sent to live with relatives in Pennsylvania, and he crossed the country all by himself on trains. His father sent for him two years later, and he returned to find his father once again married. Life was hard on the frontier, with Joe's father always away at logging camps or working odd jobs.
At ten Joe was forced to leave home by his stepmother. For a time Joe worked in town and continued school, but by the time he was 15 he was living alone in his father's old house, while the family had relocated to Seattle. The Great Depression crashed many people's economic aspirations. Joe entered the University of Washington, and joined the rowing crew. Years of hard physical labor and exertions had prepared him well, however, and his freshman year his crew and their boat, referred to as a shell, defeated elite teams from California and Ivy League universities.
Joe and his teammates repeated this feat every year, and made it to the Olympics. Joe's team was undefeated their entire college career. Throughout his time on the crew team Joe found love, and also a sense of belonging. This is not only the story of winning gold, this is the story of perseverance and finding oneself.
Fans of Unbroken and other historical biographies will appreciate the dedication and effort it took on the part of the crewmen to overcome the barriers that stood in their way, and how out of the crucible of exertion came a sense of belonging and of home.
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