Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

The University of Washington eight man crew team rowed their way into the 1936 Olympics in Hitler's Berlin.  This is their story.  Although it is primarily about the sport - its coaches, the boats, the competition - it is also about the era.  One of the young men on the team, Joe Rantz, provides us the life story that is a window into the times - the poverty, the desire to get an education, the Depression in general.  Many of the details of the story come from his daughter who was interviewed for the book. This is also a fascinating look at Hitlers Germany.  So many life lessons attached to this one event.  I started it Eugene waiting for my red-eyed flight and finished it that morning in the Newark airport.  It was great to read it from cover to cover.  It is a non-fiction book that reads like a novel - AND - you can actually still see the boat on the UW campus.