Reading in the Garden

Rowing to Victory You’ve most likely heard about Jesse Owens, the American track and field superstar who took home four gold medals in the 1936 Olympics. A movie about Owens, called “Race,” was released in 2016 about his jarring struggles to get there in a white America.  You have probably read or seen the story of the long distance runner, Louis Zamperini, also racing for America at the same time in that same stadium.   Seven years later, Zamperini was captured in Japanese-occupied Marshall Islands after a plane crash which left him and two others adrift in the Pacific Ocean during WWII. The movie and book, “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand, details the torture he endured during his captivity.   But do you know the story of the nine Americans on the rowing team who plowed their way to victory at those same Olympics? The Boys in the Boat highlights rowers stemming from the Washington State. These particula...