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hagbard_celine's review against another edition
2.0
Compares unfavorably with Brad Lewis's account. Perhaps I'm interested in a less broad, lengthier version of the book. The style didn't do it for me. I'm glad a survey of the period exists. I think I'd be more interested in the transcripts of the interviews than in the book they produced.
chairmanbernanke's review against another edition
3.0
Good insight into a highly competitive bubble and personalities
ajkhn's review against another edition
4.0
Essentially a white-collar version of some Steve Earle song about trying hard and getting by or something.
antigonus's review against another edition
3.0
This is a fun little read which follows the US national championships (or Olympic selection) as well as the 1984 Olympic single & double rowing races. The athletes and their backgrounds are described beautifully. The major disappointment is the description of all the races themselves. Very unimaginative.
jackwwang's review against another edition
4.0
A captivating story about a small tribe of obsessive competitors. Halberstam (of journalistic fame with chops for hard hitting reporting on the Vietnam war) writes what seems to be a passion piece on this weird little tribe of mostly east coast ivy league graduates in whom a rare overlap of genetic blessings (mad VO2 max's), unmatched drive and competitive spirit, and a cultish purist ethic.
The striking thing about these world class rowers is that 1 - they are so dedicated to a sport that causes incredible amounts of pain at almost all instances of practice and racing. 2 - there are really no practice rewards to speak of for achieving excellence. Unlike basketball, baseball, of football where commercial success waits for the highest level athletes, the only near commercial reward for rowers is the hour of Olympic TV coverage should you make it to that level. And lastly these are people with great professional prospects after college choosing instead to pursue this masochistic activity, "One could understand the son of a ghetto family playing in the school yard for six hours a day hoping that basketball was a ticket out of the slum; it was harder to understand the son of Beacon Hill spending so much time and subjecting himself to so much pain to attain an honor that no one else even understood. Perhaps in our society the true madness in the search for excellence is left for the amateur."
What drives the book are masterful portraits of fascinating characters. The savant-like purist in a sport of purists Biglow, the towering stern coach figure of Harvard coach Harry Parker, the veteran front-running for the race to the single scull US Olympic seat Tiff Woods, who gives the word dedication such new concentrated meaning that I hesitate to use that word ever again.
Lastly, there are special moments of beauty that gives the layman a glimpse of what is so special about the sport... "When most oarsmen talked about their perfect moments in a boat, they referred not so much to winning a race but to the feel of the boat, all eight oars in the water together, the synchronization almost perfect. In moments like that, the boat seemed to lift right out of the water. Oarsmen called that the moment of swing..." Sounds like something worth dedicating one's self to.
Characters, Biglow, Parker, Tiff Woods
The striking thing about these world class rowers is that 1 - they are so dedicated to a sport that causes incredible amounts of pain at almost all instances of practice and racing. 2 - there are really no practice rewards to speak of for achieving excellence. Unlike basketball, baseball, of football where commercial success waits for the highest level athletes, the only near commercial reward for rowers is the hour of Olympic TV coverage should you make it to that level. And lastly these are people with great professional prospects after college choosing instead to pursue this masochistic activity, "One could understand the son of a ghetto family playing in the school yard for six hours a day hoping that basketball was a ticket out of the slum; it was harder to understand the son of Beacon Hill spending so much time and subjecting himself to so much pain to attain an honor that no one else even understood. Perhaps in our society the true madness in the search for excellence is left for the amateur."
What drives the book are masterful portraits of fascinating characters. The savant-like purist in a sport of purists Biglow, the towering stern coach figure of Harvard coach Harry Parker, the veteran front-running for the race to the single scull US Olympic seat Tiff Woods, who gives the word dedication such new concentrated meaning that I hesitate to use that word ever again.
Lastly, there are special moments of beauty that gives the layman a glimpse of what is so special about the sport... "When most oarsmen talked about their perfect moments in a boat, they referred not so much to winning a race but to the feel of the boat, all eight oars in the water together, the synchronization almost perfect. In moments like that, the boat seemed to lift right out of the water. Oarsmen called that the moment of swing..." Sounds like something worth dedicating one's self to.
Characters, Biglow, Parker, Tiff Woods
schlippa's review against another edition
4.0
Leuk boekje voor roeiers. De schoonheid van roeien en hoe het voelt als het minder goed gaat komen mooi naar voren. Ook hoe het is om met zoveel verschillende karakters samen te werken of te strijden.
lajacquerie's review against another edition
4.0
Though I read this fresh off of Olympic fever, this story would be a solid read anytime. Halberstam frames a story about pure amateur sport and what drives people to seek physical dominance without the lure of monetary gain around the 1984 US Olympic rowing team.
Rowing was an exceptional choice, as I doubt any of us can name any truly great rowers, proving just how little fame was to be gained in pursuing the sport. How many Nike athletes or Wheaties box cover stars ever sculled? Nobody's thinking of rowing full-time to make their fortune in this book. Furthermore, as Halberstam explains in great detail, rowing is a uniquely punishing sport. I learned more about the way the body processes its energy in the reading of this book, but almost always through the lens of how much pain rowing causes, and how superhuman people have to be to endure it. Or crazy, in my opinion - but the kind of crazy you admire. The sport was a good choice too because the contracted circle of its participants lends a sort of claustrophobia to the novel - everyone knows each other's strengths and styles, and the constant whirl of boat pairings and personality clashes (those boats they use are barely big enough for 2+ bodies, let alone egos) drives home just how difficult it is to balance a championship boat (and the training leading up to a championship run), both physically and mentally.
So, we've got a mountain of reasons why not to row - there's no future in it, it's physically crushing, and you've only got about a razor thin chance of winning despite your dedication. Why do it? Halberstam takes us through the personal stories of each of the contending rowers in this book to answer that question, and I was enthralled the whole journey through.
Rowing was an exceptional choice, as I doubt any of us can name any truly great rowers, proving just how little fame was to be gained in pursuing the sport. How many Nike athletes or Wheaties box cover stars ever sculled? Nobody's thinking of rowing full-time to make their fortune in this book. Furthermore, as Halberstam explains in great detail, rowing is a uniquely punishing sport. I learned more about the way the body processes its energy in the reading of this book, but almost always through the lens of how much pain rowing causes, and how superhuman people have to be to endure it. Or crazy, in my opinion - but the kind of crazy you admire. The sport was a good choice too because the contracted circle of its participants lends a sort of claustrophobia to the novel - everyone knows each other's strengths and styles, and the constant whirl of boat pairings and personality clashes (those boats they use are barely big enough for 2+ bodies, let alone egos) drives home just how difficult it is to balance a championship boat (and the training leading up to a championship run), both physically and mentally.
So, we've got a mountain of reasons why not to row - there's no future in it, it's physically crushing, and you've only got about a razor thin chance of winning despite your dedication. Why do it? Halberstam takes us through the personal stories of each of the contending rowers in this book to answer that question, and I was enthralled the whole journey through.
mkduds's review
2.0
This is a book about rowing. It was pretty good, but not as gripping as I wanted it to be. A friend of mine said he couldn't put it down once he got into it. I found myself pushing myself through just to finish it, which disappointed me because rowing is written about very infrequently. Halberstam certainly is a good writer, but I didn't feel the investment in the characters.
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