'The Boys in the Boat', by Daniel James Brown

The Boys in the Boat, Daniel James Brown (3.0)

I was a bit disappointed in this award-winning book. While the story is fascinating, I was let down with the story telling. All the elements were there: a group of scrappy athletes (many who had come through adversity), an unlikely winning college team, and the dramatic setting of the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. I’m glad I now know the story in more detail, but on completion I had a sense of missing a better version. The author picked wisely in his main character. He follows the story of Joe Rantz, one of the rowers of the 8-oar crew team from the University of Washington in the mid 1930’s. Joe’s childhood reads today as a harrowing abandonment, although it was likely a more frequent scenario during the Depression. His journey to get on the team and to the great success achieved should be inspiring to all and impresses on us the type of strong personal character he had. I think many people will enjoy this book. While similar and as inspiring, it’s not quite ‘Seabiscuit’ or ‘Unbroken’.

'Down to a Soundless Sea, Stories' by Thomas Steinbeck

Down to a Soundless Sea, Stories, Thomas Steinbeck (3.5)

Since we’ve moved to the Central Coast of California recently and just started to deeply investigate the area, I found these short stories particularly interesting. Mr. Steinbeck admits in the Author’s Note that his family would indulge their storytelling abilities at gatherings – led by his famous father, John Steinbeck. Most of these stories have JS’s feel of the area, the characters and often a sense of sadness you find in his famous books. The stories weave names familiar to us now (Cruickshank, Post, Pfeiffer, etc.) as they were real people who worked and lived in the area in the late 1800’s. There are also several characters from the diverse cultures that settled in this area, from the Chinese to the Filipinos and the industries that drew them such as shipping and mining. One of the longer stories (‘Blind Luck’) reminded me of ‘Two Years Before the Mast’, the excellent telling of Richard Henry Dana’s experiences in the shipping industry along the California coast. Overall I really enjoyed the history lessons palatably served as touching stories and I believe, through these stories, we are privy to the fireside stories told by and to Thomas Steinbeck.