"The Boys In The Boat" is a book by Daniel James Brown. It is about the young men from the United States Rowing Team in the 1936 Olympics, who against great odds, won the Gold Medal!
The 1936 Olympics...everyone should remember them as the Olympics where Jesse Owens won four gold medals for track! (Also, Louis Zamperini was on the same track team and recalled that Jesse Owens looked out for him while they were in Berlin. Louis called him "a prince of a guy". So these men on the rowing team were in the same group of athletes as Jesse Owens and Louis Zamperini!)
Now, I have only found out about this book but it is most certainly on my list of books that I will read very soon! (And it looks as if it has now being made into a movie, so look out for it!)
How do you know if you are a big fan of non-fiction books? When you look up a book and see the comments made by other non-fiction authors and you recognize every one of those authors!
The following is what some of my favorite authors had to say about "The Boys In The Boat"...
" I really can't rave enough about this book. It's like Chariots of Fire with oars." .....David Laskin (Author of "The Children's Blizzard"...a fascinating book, but a very sad one, which I do recommend.)
"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".)
"...a book you will recommend to your best friends". James Bradley (author of "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Flyboys".)
"Well told history, packed with suspense and a likable bunch of underdogs at the heart of an improbable triumph."...Timothy Egan, author of "The Worst Hard Time"
There was also a review of the book by the author Mitchell Zuckoff (who wrote "Lost In Shangri-La" and "Frozen In Time")...but I can't find that quote for you! (If I find it, I will edit this and let you know what it is.)
This makes me also want to read the other books by Daniel James Brown. They are:
"The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Story of A Donner Party Bride"
"Under A Flaming Sky: The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894"
You know you are a non-fiction fan when you want to tell everyone about all the great non-fiction books out there AND you hate it when you read the review written by Amazon that says..."a nonfiction book that reads like a novel." !!! NO!!! Please, I cringe every single time I read or hear that....it reads like a well written book of non-fiction!
Bring on the true stories! I can't get enough of them.
These photos are from last weekend from our trip to Stone Mountain. That last photo was taken from the parking lot and we even like the view from there! We always say good-bye to the mountain until next time. We really do love it so. I guess you can tell!
You know, if this "...reads like a novel" makes some people take up non-fiction who otherwise would have been forever stuck in the world of fiction, then that's OK for me :-)
ReplyDeleteThe pictures are wonderful! I do that, too, say good-bye to places I particularly love. My sister and I said it aloud when we left our beautiful cottage in Ripon, and then when we left Ripon itself, and again when we left Yorkshire and England at the end of our summer holiday.
It's just that "reads like a novel" is so often used and it is unfair to all the wonderful nonfiction books that I love! (It reminds me of the phrase, "tastes like chicken", it is used so often, it is a bit funny!
DeleteFunny that you say goodbye to places too...I will remember that the next time you show us the lovely Yorkshire! :-)
Stone Mountain is a beautiful and fun place, especially at Chrismas!
ReplyDeleteI love it year round! It is gorgeous at Christmas though, I love the lights. xx
DeleteI have to admit I read mostly fiction, but you are enticing me to read more nonfiction. Your colors are so beautiful there. I can see why you love Stone Mountain.
ReplyDeleteIt is the most inspiring books of nonfiction that I like the most. If you ever want a list, just let me know! :-)
DeleteYour pictures of stone mountain are beautiful! I enjoy both non fiction and fiction, as long as they are interesting and well written and easy to read! Sounds like you have found some good ones to read!! xx
ReplyDeleteI agree, if something is well written, I will love it...doesn't matter to me what it is! It just surprised me when I read these reviews and I knew every single one of the nonfiction authors! HA! That phrase "reads like a novel" is one that I have heard and read so much...I wonder if any other non fiction fans feels about that the same way that I do?
DeleteNot a big reader of nonfiction, but when I do it's generally a biography.
ReplyDeleteOH, I love biographies! For many years, that was almost all that I read!
Delete:-) I found the memoir "Devil At My Heels" by Louis Zamperini just on the library bookshelf in 2004 and I am so glad that I did!
You remind me of our own Sonja Henie who took the gold medal in figure skating at the Olympics in 1936. Your pictures are very beautiful!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, and she became a movie star too!
DeleteThanks for saying the photos are good, they would have been better if it had been sunny!
Non-fiction is the only thing I read other than fiction. Fun aside I am partial to biographies. I like to know what makes people tick. I want to know why they made things happen and how it affected them.
ReplyDeleteI really love biographies too. I can't tell you how many I have read in my lifetime, I am getting on in years you know! HA!
DeleteLove your beautiful mountain! It sounds like there's just too much to read in this world.
ReplyDeleteIf you are ever in Atlanta, make sure to see Stone Mountain, it's gorgeous.
DeleteThe real world is far better than fiction!
ReplyDeleteI agree!
Delete(There are some books of fiction that I have a great fondness for...you will have to guess what they are!)
Kay, Your pictures are beautiful. I love seeing them. I would love this movie and book. Blessings for a wonderful Thanksgiving, xoxo,Susie
ReplyDeleteIf you don't read the book, remember looking out for the movie, it looks like a good one to me. xx
DeleteSuch beautiful photographs!
ReplyDeleteIt is a wonderful book.
Thanks, Terry!
DeleteHave you read the book? I hope to read it soon!
I enjoy true stories, too..bios and autobiographies, as well. And I love your photos...beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI hope you and your family have a very Happy Thanksgiving, Kay. :)
Thank you, Lee! And thanks for remembering your American friends at Thanksgiving!
DeleteHi Kay
ReplyDeleteUnbroken, with excerpts, was featured on the Channel 4 news last night. Channel 4 is one of the main national TV channels.
It is also featured in today's Daily Mail. Articles about Angelina Jolie appear in most of today's papers.
Hey Henry!
DeleteIt pleases me to know that the story of Louis Zamperini will very soon by seen by millions! Let me know when you see the movie and what you think of it.
I discovered this book in my search for books for my husband. I have it on my wish list for his next book. Thanks for writing about it. I had never heard of his before this past week.
ReplyDeleteI hope that you will read it too! I have been told that the books that I read are more for men but I don't see it myself, I just like good books! :-)
DeleteYou know, I am definitely a non-fiction girl! Every time we go to a bookstore, Alain will bring a book to me that he thinks I'll like and I've already read it EVERY TIME. It's so funny. But I do get excited when I know all the authors on the review list. Beautiful photos too!!!
ReplyDelete