I wanted to like this so much more than I did. Its my favorite kind of story: American underdogs beating the odds to show the world what America can do. Unfortunately both the formatting and pacing makes this a super slow and difficult read. The interesting and relevant tales of the actual boys in the boat are sprinkled in with side plots varying between Nazi Germany setting up for the Olympics to the Dust Bowl. This made it hard to read as a lot of information could not only be condensed but also wasn't necessarily relevant to the story. The last three chapters really pulled it together for me though as it was what we all came for: the 1936 Olympics. In short, would I read this again? No. Would I recommend it? Maybe. If you like historical sports novels definitely! Otherwise maybe just watch the movie?