Donna's Reviews > The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

I don't know why I put off reading this book so long, except I was reading other things. BUT when I went to visit my son, who is the grandson of Joe Rantz and named his son Joe after him, I began reading their copy and could not put it down. Everything else I was reading was put aside.

I then realized I would not finish it before I had to leave and besides, I wanted to OWN it. So I got the Kindle version. Besides, my son was also reading it and we had two book marks, his and mine in the book. So it made things easier.

Wow, I was surprised at all the things I learned about Joe and Joyce I had not known before. I remember holding Joe's Olympic gold medal long ago when I first married his son, the first and last such medal I have ever held. I remember because it made such an impression on me. I remember the talk of the other "boys" and how they got together and I remember being invited to the planting of the tree for Joseph Rantz but did not go. I don't remember why. I have always proudly told everyone that my son's grandfather won an Olympic Gold Medal in Hitler's Germany in 1936. Who else can say that? Not many. But really, I had no idea what was involved in that accomplishment.

But after reading this book I realize how very special those boys were, and how important it was that it all came together, the very special men who all had hard upbringings, who had to scrape and scratch for every morsel they ever got, the now legendary boat maker and the coxswain. It took a very unique mix of ingredients to make that win happen and take home that Gold Medal.

But it had to be told in a way that we could all see it,feel it, get it. And Daniel Brown did just that. He interviewed Joe Rantz months before his death.

I remember a man who was tall, handsome, strong and always willing to help. I remember as a young single mother after I had divorced his son, how very warm and welcoming they were to me and how Joe would not only fix my broken down cars but would show me how he did it.

I remember when he fell from the tree when he was still out there too late in his life, climbing trees and cutting them down. I remember saying to myself, if only I could find a man like him, I would keep him. He was my ideal man but I had no idea how he came to be that man.

So now I know.

Update: Sadly last December 15th 2016 At 1:15 pm Joseph Devon Rantz, great grandson of Joe Rantz, was killed in a car accident riding with his friend who was driving in the pouring rain. The car hydroplaned in the rain crossed the median and hit a utility truck and then the bridge abutment. Both boys were wearing seatbelts but the driver was thrown from the car into Dry Creek. Both boys were killed instantly.
We have had tremendous, kind support from the community. We were devastated and just broken by the loss. He was a good kid, 18 years old in his senior year of high school, a lefty pitcher on the varsity baseball team. We loved him and miss him every day.