"The University of Washington's 1936 eight-oar crew transformed the sport and grabbed the attention of millions of Americans. The sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the nine boys, in the depths of the Great Depression, showed the world what beating the odds really meant. They defeated elite rivals from California and eastern schools to earn the right to compete against the German crew rowing for Adolf Hitler in the Olympic Games in Berlin....

Soon to be a major motion picture directed by George Clooney
The #1 New York Times bestseller freshly adapted for the next generation.
Inspiration for the PBS American Experience Documentary 'The Boys of '36'
 
For readers of Unbroken, out of the depths of the Great Depression comes the astonishing tale of nine working-class boys from the American West who at the 1936 Olympics showed the world what true grit...

"In 1936, nine working-class boys from the University of Washington took the rowing world and the nation by storm when their eight-oar crew team captured the gold medal at the Olympics in Berlin. These sons of loggers, shipyard workers and farmers overcame tremendous hardships--psychological, physical, economic--to beat not only the Ivy League teams of the East Coast, but Adolf Hitler's elite German rowers. The boys' unexpected victory, and the obstacles...