Book Report: “The Boys in the Boat” by Daniel James Brown
Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
“The Boys in the Boat” is a certain kind of book: a historical non-fiction underdog sports story. But it’s also everything a book should be: entertaining, informative, well-written. I just finished it in two days and was disappointed when I reached the final page. (Not by dint of the ending! Only because it had ended.)
The book, written by Daniel James Brown and published in 2013, tells the tale of the University of Washington 8-man rowing crew that went to the Berlin Olympics in 1936. [SPOILER ALERT!] Despite miserable conditions, a sick crew member, jeering anti-American crowds, and German efforts to sabotage the race in favor of their crew, they pulled it off.
But that’s just the glorious finish. The first 18 chapters describe the long, slow course the boat and its crew traveled from the dusty, western American frontier to the stately capital of Berlin, where Adolf Hitler and his minions had orchestrated a massive propaganda campaign to convince the world that Germany was a model of civility and hospitality—and not a nation to be messed with. Only the naïve sons of farmers and loggers would have the temerity to stand up to such a regime. In this victory, Brown foreshadows the thousands of ordinary boys who would, in a few years’ time, storm the beaches of Normandy and Omaha to put Hitler in his place once again—this time for good.
The boat/book is stuffed with fascinating characters, but focuses in on Joe Rantz, whose story is so incredible and heartbreaking I’d rather not spoil it. But what I most enjoyed about the book—other than the crackling prose—is the other-worldliness of the sport of rowing, about which I knew nothing. Apparently, rowing was once a thing. (And still is!) Crew was second in popularity only to track and field at the Olympics. People gathered around radios and ran along shorelines to follow along.
As Brown explains 8-man rowing to ignorants like me, I could not help but looking for application. I’m a Christian pastor. I lead a church. What would it look like to lead my church into the sort of selfless unity and perfect rhythm that those boys found in that boat? What would it be like for a church to experience “swing”—with every member moving so perfectly together that it seemed we were flying, as the boys of Washington felt?
Make no mistake, this transcendent sense of teamwork did not come easy. Before Washington Coach Al Ulbrickson assembled his crew of eight, he spent years inciting competition among the contenders, kicking boys in and out of boats with abandon, looking for the right combination. He subjected them to training so exhausting, and in such poor weather conditions, that today’s NCAA might have kicked him out of the sport. But it paid off, even in historical terms. Where the rest of the world had sunk into appeasing Germany, those boys were some of the first to stand up to the regime, landing a little blow for freedom. In their training and victory, they found a sense of family that moored them for the rest of their lives. Following the race they gathered annually for pictures and rowing excursions while recounting their days of victory.
So I ask again: In our Christian struggle against the evils of this world, what would it mean for us to do the hard work of winnowing and training to find a crew that moves in perfect synchronicity, in perfect submission to one another? Is not our cause even greater? Are not the stakes even higher? Is not the promise of gold even more glorious for us?
Of course, the metaphor is not perfect. We dare not kick people out of our boats/churches for not pulling their weight. That’s not our calling. Also, in the “body” of Christ (another metaphor describing the Christian mission), there is more diversity in roles than there is a crew boat, and more room for individuality. But these limitations aside, I was still left wondering: Do I have the discipline to train for a race more eternally significant than any Olympic regatta? Do I have the humility to subsume my ego to the collective will of the team? And do I have the courage to face up to Nazi giants when no one else dares?
Basically, would God have picked me for his boat? And would he have picked you?
Probably not. But in Jesus Christ, he did. And now we must row like it.
[A final note: The movie version of “The Boys in the Boat” is in the works. Kenneth Branagh directing. Can’t wait. Seabiscuit + Hoosiers + Rocky IV.]
-MRH (May 24, 2019)