Daniel James Brown’s exhaustively researched account of the American rowing team’s journey to triumph at the 1936 Berlin Olympics made us feel like we were right in the center of the action, not mere spectators. Though it’s a niche sport now, in the 1930s, rowing was an international preoccupation; Brown’s absorbing book captures the athletes’ intensity and the larger political drama playing out around them. The Great Depression, the looming specter of the Third Reich, and the battle of America’s national identity are all part of this inspiring story about nine men who won the gold against all odds.