The Amateurs

“One of the best books ever written about a sport,” the New York Times–bestselling story of four amateur US rowers and their 1984 Olympic dream (Newsweek).

In 1984, rowing was a sport continually relegated to the margins, far from the spotlights attracted by other Olympic events. That year, four men went head-to-head for the right to compete for gold as the United States' single sculler, an honor that would lead not to lucrative endorsement deals, but to the fleeting glory of the Olympic Games, and the satisfaction of ranking supreme among their competitive community of oarsmen. In pursuit of that goal, the rowers pushed through crippling pain, delaying personal relationships and careers, all for the rush of winning.

Determined to understand these athletes of a seemingly bygone era, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and author David Halberstam chronicles their bravery and obsession, delivering a dramatic human story, buzzing with adrenaline, about the lengths to which athletes will go to prove their mettle and compete on the highest level.

“Mr. Halberstam delves into the backgrounds of these four men, explores their psyches and tries to explain what drives them . . . The Amateurs is their deftly told story.” —The New York Times

“[A] masterful job . . . Maintains the suspense to the very last stroke . . . Halberstam makes us care about the four men, their disappointments and the brutal testing of their friendships.” —Sports Illustrated

This ebook features an extended biography of David Halberstam.