Red Rose Crew: A True Story Of Women, Winning, And The Water

Team rowing is an activity that tests individual limits in a group setting like no other sport. Unfortunately for the public vision of rowing, the same need for uniformity of action that drives a championship boat, and the relative linearity of the contest, combine to preclude the heroics of the team rower from being displayed, understood or enjoyed in as entertaining a manner as the feats of athletes in other sports. As a result, rowing, the first modern sport and the best known team sport in America in the midst of the 19th century, is today largely marginalized in the public eye, and those who move the long boats are rarely seen on the great stage of public sport.Dan Boyne has rendered a tremendous service to rowing and to sport history by taking a subject that attracts so little attention on today's popular entertainment menu, and writing an enthralling tale of achievement that brings honor to the author and his subject.The eight is the capital boat of the sport, and the challenge for Harry Parker's nascent U.S. women's team was daunting - to compete against European squads with greater depth, experience, organization and support, while at the same time creating its own place within an often hostile and unconvinced US rowing community. Boyne moves deftly betwen the stories of the parts and the whole, bringing focus to selected individuals and putting others into context to complete the picture. He chronicles the progress of the team as pages fall inexorably from the season's calendar, building his pace and pressure with each decision that establishes the crew's makeup. At the end, the story surges down the course to its dramatic and satisfying finish, and Dan Boyne has produced a tremendous saga well told, and an invaluable contribution to the too small corpus of rowing history. More, please!

Being a female rower, especially an older one, has many challenges... and rewards. Something I've learned about from personal experience. They're difficult to communicate with those who aren't involved with the sport (the risk of terminal boredom being very high) but form an incredible bond with those who are. This book, on the experiences of the pioneers of women's rowing in the 70's, tells it like it is, and makes it fascinating. Dan Boyne has recreated the whole experience of these women, and it's an experience that is, fortunately or unfortunately, not so far from the present day. It's an impressive addition to the tiny canon of rowing-lit, and even more importantly to the growing canon of books about women athletes and competitors, and what it takes to be in the game. A riveting read.

I just finished reading Boyne's latest book, the Red Rose Crew. It's fantastic. Boyne's lively and engaging style is perfect for this kind of history. Red Rose Crew is both informative and inspiring. I've been rowing for 10 years now, and I've recommended Red Rose Crew to everyone in my rowing club.Boyne's book is sure to motivate rowers of all ages and skill levels. Boyne's account of the 1975 Nationals, his description of that wonderful and anxious feeling all rowers have at the start line, made me hunger for the Spring season. As others have said, Red Rose crew is the best book on rowing since the Amateurs! If you haven't read Boyne's sculling book, it's also a must.

I picked this book up expecting a vaguely enjoyable read but was quickly drawn into what is a hugely compelling story about women breaking through the prejudicial boundaries around their sport to record a historical result against the female(?) crews of Russia and Eastern Europe. Dan Boyne cleverly weaves the stories of the very different characters that made up the crew throughout the book skillfully drawing them together at the end. His writing is first rate and as someone who has lived in both the UK and Boston, US - the main locales for this book - I found it well researched and credible Rower or non-rower, male or female this is a terrific read

The Red Rose Crew is an excellent, informative, and engaging book for fans of any sport. Though I have never picked up an oar, I greatly enjoyed Boyne's character development and storytelling skills. In an era in which women athletes must often look pretty to court fan support, Boyne focuses on the courage, strength and poise of these pioneers without romanticizing away their flaws. The book is a great read and the plot transcends the sport of rowing. It is an essential read for female athletes in their teens and 20's who are often not aware of the doors that pioneering women athletes had to break down.