Two great reads for November

The men of the University of Washington rowing team circa 1935

"Where is the spiritual value of rowing?...The losing of self entirely to the cooperative effort of the crew as a whole." - George Yeoman Pocock, in The Boys in the Boat
 
 Since my last entry, I was able to finish reading two great books: The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown, and Beautiful Eyes: A Father Transformed by Dr. Paul Austin. I'm still reading a lot of non-fiction books as well as historical novels. I've been reading so much lately that the things that I'm learning are beginning to overlap. I admit that I read for the mere enjoyment of it, but I also read because I LOVE INFORMATION. Nowadays I guess the young people would call me a "nerd," but in many ways I think "nerd" is in now, especially here in Durham. There are a lot of smart people here, and people are not afraid to show it. Nerd is in, nerd is cool, and nerds are proud to quote the information that they know if it can be of help to someone. Information is readily available to all of us now with the use of technology, and I'm very thankful for that. I don't have to drive out to the other side of town to buy a book. I don't have to wait for the library to have a book available at the library. I can download the book onto my kindle if I just can't wait. I try to keep my options open.

The first book that I finished this week is The Boys in the Boat. This book was inspiring, to say the least. It's a story that we all love to hear about unlikely winners. The college rowers of the University of Washington didn't really expect to beat other colleges at all, much less go to the Berlin Olympics of 1936. Brown focuses on one special young man, Joe Rantz, as he tells the story of some amazing young men who worked incredibly hard to become victorious. Joe was a young man from a difficult past. His mother died when he was young and soon after that his stepmother didn't allow him in the house any longer. He felt very abandoned and alone with no one to love or encourage him. His father never stood up for him or sought his love. Joe had no resources, no emotional support, and no prospects, but when he scraped together the money to attend the University of Washington, his fortune began to slowly change. He found that he could achieve something incredible with the guidance and support of his teammates and coaches. Joe overcame many difficult times on the rowing team, but he NEVER gave up. He could have easily given up but he kept giving it his best. In the end, his team went to the 1936 Olympics on a ship as enjoyed the entire journey. They were on the same ship with athletes such as Jesse Owens and Louis Zamperini, the great long-distance runner and World War II P.O.W. survivor. Incidentally, if you haven't read Unbroken, the book about Zamperini, I strongly encourage you to do so. Zamperini died earlier this year at the age of 97. The movie version of Unbroken comes out in December, so you will want to read the book BEFORE the movie comes out (the book is always better). When I read that Jesse Owens and Zamperini were both on the ship with the rowing team, it helped me to grasp the historical period in which they all lived. There were 49 nations represented at the games, with almost 4,000 athletes participating in 19 sports. The games were opened by Chancellor and Fuhrer Adolph Hitler.

It's important to realize that during this time, Hitler was in control of Germany. The Germans beat out Spain to host the Olympics and they put on a big show for the world. While the U.S. almost boycotted the Olympics due to limited knowledge that the world had about Hitler harming Jews and others, they decided to allow the athletes to participate. By the time the world arrived in Berlin, the Nazis had hidden all of their anti-Jew propaganda and other evidences of crimes against humanity. When the athletes arrived, they quickly noticed the Nazi flags everywhere and the "Heil Hitlers" and continuous salutes. It was after the Olympics that the situation in Germany greatly worsened, and the world soon learned how serious the situation was.


Before I finished The Boys, I began reading Beautiful Eyes: A Father Transformed, because I read a paragraph in our local newspaper stating that Dr. Paul Austin would be doing a reading at The Regulator Bookstore nearby. I know the Austin family, an so I knew a little bit about their daughter with Down's Syndrome as well as their two sons. When our children were in elementary school, our son was good friends with the Austin's oldest son, John. I spent a lot of time with Paul's wife, Sally, and enjoyed those play dates and social times. A few years ago I read Paul's first book, Something for the Pain, so I wanted to read his new one as well. The book is about the experience of having a child with Down's Syndrome. The Austins had no idea that their first child would have this disease, so it was quite a shock. Over time and learning more about the disease, the family adjusted and learned a lot about what makes a person "human." It was interesting to read the scientific points that Paul learned along the way. In this memoir, Paul interweaves scientific information that is helpful to the reader in understanding many of the conclusions that he makes. In short, his book explores what it means to be human from the perspective of parents who have thought long and hard about it.

I have a lot more to say about the two books, but I will save that for another time. Now for the next five books in my card catalog.

Sharing Good Times by Jimmy Carter
My Antonia by Willa Cather
The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman & Ross Campbell
Your Attitude is Showing by Elwood Chapman
Married Lovers, Married Friends by Steve & Annie Chapman

Have a sublime week,
Melissa