About this item
The #1 New York Times-bestselling story about American Olympic triumph in Nazi Germany and now the inspiration for the forthcoming PBS documentary "Boys of '36"For readers of Unbroken, out of the depths of the Depression comes an irresistible story about beating the odds and finding hope in the most desperate of times - the improbable, intimate account of how nine working-class boys from the American 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 sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the University of Washington's eight-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 German 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. Drawing on the boys' own journals and vivid memories of a once-in-a-lifetime shared 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 personal quest.
About the Author
Daniel James Brown lives in the country east of Redmond, Washington, where he writes nonfiction books about compelling historical events. Brown's newest book--Facing the Mountain--follows the lives of four young Japanese American men as they and their families bravely confront harsh new realities brought about by the onset of World War II. Facing the Mountain comes on the heels of Brown's New York Times bestseller--The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. That book chronicles the extraordinary saga of nine working class boys who stormed the rowing world, transformed the sport, and galvanized the attention of millions of Americans in the midst of the Great Depression. MGM has acquired the rights to adapt the book for a feature film to be directed by George Clooney. His second book--The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride--was chosen as an INDIE NEXT NOTABLE SELECTION by the American Bookseller's Association, it recounts the extraordinary journey of a young woman whose fate became entangled with that of the infamous Donner Party in 1846. His first book--Under a Flaming Sky: The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894--takes the reader back to the events of September 1, 1894, when his great-grandfather and more than 300 other people died in one of America's greatest forest-fire disasters. That book was selected as a Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers pick, was named one of the Best Books of 2006 by Booklist magazine, and was a finalist for the Washington State Book Award.
