Cast aside by his family at an early age, abandoned and left to fend for himself in the woods of Washington State, young Joe Rantz turns to rowing as a way of escaping his past. What follows is an extraordinary journey, as Joe and eight other working-class boys exchange the sweat and dust of life in 1930s America for the promise of glory at the heart of Hitler`s Berlin. Stroke by stroke, a remarkable young man strives to regain his shattered self-regard, to dare again to trust in others - and to find his way back home. Told against the backdrop of the Great Depression, The Boys in the Boat is narrative non-fiction of the first order; a personal story full of lyricism and unexpected beauty that rises above the grand sweep of history, and captures instead the purest essence of what it means to be alive. `The Boys in the Boat is not only a great and inspiring true story; it is a fascinating work of history` Nathaniel Philbrick, author of In the Heart of the Sea `I really can`t rave enough about this book ...I read the last fifty pages with white knuckles, and the last twenty-five with tears in my eyes` David Laskin, author of The Children`s Blizzard and The Long Way Home `A thrilling, heart-thumping tale of a most remarkable band of rowing brothers` Timothy Egan, author of The Worst Hard Time