Summary of The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown | Includes Analysis Preview: The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown, is a non-fiction account of the remarkable life story of Joe Rantz. Rantz was a determined young man who overcame personal tragedy and hardship to win a gold medal at the 1936 Olympics as a member of the US rowing team. When Joe was four, his mother, Nellie, died of throat cancer. His father, Harry, went to Canada. He sent Joe to Pennsylvania to live with his Aunt Alma while his older brother, Fred, returned to college. A year later, Fred had graduated college and married Thelma. He sent for Joe to live with him and his new wife. Joe’s father returned and built a new house in Spokane, Washington. He married Thelma’s sister, Thula, a talented violinist. Joe moved in with Harry and Thula… PLEASE NOTE: This is a summary and analysis of the book and NOT the original book. Inside this Instaread Summary of The Boys in the Boat • Summary of entire book • Introduction to the Important People in the book • Analysis of the Themes and Author’s Style About the Author With Instaread, you can get the summary and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, summarize and analyze it for your convenience.