|
The Wonder Crew: The Untold Story of a Coach, Navy Rowing, and Olympic Immortality | 
 enlarge | Author: Susan Saint Sing
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $12.96
You Save: $12.99 (50%)
New (32) Used (11) from $7.98
Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 89048
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st. Ed
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.2
ISBN: 0312367031
Dewey Decimal Number: 797.123
EAN: 9780312367039
ASIN: 0312367031
Publication Date: July 8, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
THE WONDER CREW is the fascinating story of how the salty coach of the Annapolis crew team, Coach Richard Glendon, seized the sport of rowing first from the Ivy League schools and then the imposing British with a new style both uniquely American and very much his own. He took a group of young midshipmen with humble origins and dominated a sport once the domain of the privileged. After stunning the Ivy Leagues in race after race, the US Naval Academy team won a shot at the Olympics. Their task was nearly impossible: for hundreds of years, the British Navy ruled the world and their supremacy of the seas naturally made them dominant in the sport of rowing. With the hopes of a nation, Navy went into the heart of Europe and in thrilling fashion defeated the heavily favored Brits to win the gold medal in 1920. With Glendon's new American style, the US won Gold for forty straight years, the longest winning streak in any single sport in Olympic history. Rich in history, with brave characters, American ingenuity, and dramatic training and competition, THE WONDER CREW is the first comprehensive account of the 1920 Olympic Navy crew team and their inspirational coach who forged the dramatic story of their quest for Olympic gold.
|
| Customer Reviews:
 For hard core rowing historians only January 4, 2009
I'm a bit of a rowing geek, so I enjoyed this book. The background on rowing at the start of the 20th century, and the tradition of Navy crew and the Glendon family, inform anyone interested in the history of US rowing. The facts are quite well researched and interesting.
The writing disappointed me. Ms. Saint Sing tries too hard to make nearly every subtopic epic and amazing. Her language is often superlative without any real support in context or description for the superlatives. It's a good story, but I prefer rowing narrative that is more understated and lets the reader come up with his or her own emotions and conclusions.
For some examples of that kind of narrative, David Halberstam's The Amateurs is widely acclaimed and my favorite rowing book. Dan Boyne's historical works, including The Red Rose Crew and Kelly: A Father, A Son, An American Quest, are very fine works as well. Boyne conveys subtle points of rowing culture as well as broader points of social history without the grand overstatement of Saint Sing.
 "The Wonder Crew," Great Read December 23, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
The Wonder Crew magnificently covers the story of the coach and crew of the US Navy Academy in the early 20th century, their commitment to perfection in the art of rowing, and their pursuit of excellence in the 1920 Olympics where they upset the old order. The book is masterful and the story affirms how coaches, teachers, mentors often have an impact far beyond their immediate sphere.
This book is a MUST! July 25, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
The Wonder Crew is simply put--a great read. It is well written, historically interesting, and brings together politics, sports, WWI and WWII. The Golden Age of Sports is at its best in Saint Sing's masterfully written book. Rowers will love it and anyone just looking for something new and different will like it too!
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
