The Boys in the Boat (Young Reader Version) - Daniel James Brown

Written by Daniel James Brown
Read by Mark Bramhall
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

The Boys in the Boat: The True Story of an American Team’s Epic Journey to Win Gold at the 1936 Olympics

Publisher: Books on Tape Edition:
Release date: September 8, 2015
Duration: 05:28:45

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 really meant. With rowers who were the sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the University of Washington’s eight-oar crew was never expected to defeat the elite East Coast teams, yet they did, going on to shock the world by challenging the German boat rowing for Adolf Hitler.

At the center of the tale is Joe Rantz, a teenager without family or prospects, whose personal quest captures the spirit of his generation—the generation that would prove in the coming years that the Nazis could not prevail over American determination and optimism.

This deeply emotional yet easily accessible young readers adaptation.

“As the University of Washington’s crew team quests to represent the U.S. in the 1936 Olympics, narrator Mark Bramhall is rooting for Joe Rantz and his teammates with every stroke. Bramhall sets a steady pace and transitions smoothly from scenes of Joe’s personal life to scenes with his team and his rowing coaches. As narrator, Bramhall precisely delivers the technical terms of rowing and calls each race with excitement. Bramhall’s voice produces a range of tone–steely, tender, distant–as he recounts aspects of Joe’s story: his determination to make the rowing team, his tenderness toward his half-siblings, his vulnerability at being abandoned by his father and stepfamily, his questioning of himself, and his aloofness in his interactions with teammates. What a crew and what life lessons!”— AudioFile