Daniel James Brown

The Boys in the Boat

1. IDEA 1

   Working-class boys rowed for gold

   Brown tells the story of nine young men from the University of Washington, mostly from working-class families, who formed a rowing crew in the 1930s. Against wealthy elite teams, they won gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

2. IDEA 2

   Joe Rantz overcame abandonment

   Brown focuses on Joe Rantz, who was abandoned by his family as a teenager and survived on his own. Rowing gave him a sense of belonging. Brown shows how much it meant to him to find a team that treated him as one of its own.

3. IDEA 3

   The Depression shaped them

   Brown describes how the Great Depression made life hard for the rowers and their families. They worked hard to pay for school. Brown shows that these hard times made them value the chance they had been given.

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