Virtual Book Talk

Join Principia Athletics Director Ann Pierson for a virtual book talk about the #1 New York Times bestseller The Boys in the Boat.

• Tuesday, October 27, noon and 7 p.m. (CDT)
• The talk and discussion will be offered twice (with the same talk provided each time)

Register for the book talk:

• Tuesday, October 27 at 12:00 p.m. (CDT) – click here to register
• Tuesday, October 27 at 7:00 p.m. (CDT) – click here to register

About The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

For readers of Laura Hillenbrand's book Unbroken, 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 to show what true grit really means.

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.

This book is the inspiration for the PBS documentary “The Boys of ‘36.”