Out of all the many books I've read, this is the one that has taken me most by surprise. I don't give a hoot about sports 99% of the time, and I often (not always) find nonfiction dry. So if you had told me I'd end up loving a nonfiction book about rowing, I wouldn't have believed you. And if you'd told me this book would end up being one of my very favorites, I probably would have laughed in your face. And yet when I picked this book up a couple years ago, that is exactly what happened. It was told in such a way that I found the history of the Great Depression and the art of rowing completely fascinating. And I found myself cheering for these boys as I read (much to the alarm of everyone around me, I'm sure). I decided to read the youth edition of this book to my kids, ages 9 and 11, and they both were equally enamored.