The Boys in the Boat

In the depths of the Great Depression, a University of Washington rowing crew made up of the sons of loggers, farmers and shipyard workers set out to win Olympic gold. Daniel James Brown follows the eight-oar crew past elite eastern and British university boats to the 1936 Games in Berlin, rowing in front of Hitler. The emotional center is Joe Rantz, a teenager abandoned by his family who had to survive alone in the Washington woods. A second thread shows the Nazis preparing the Games while concealing their persecution of Jews. Brown drew on the rowers' diaries, journals and photos, and the project began with a conversation with Rantz himself.

Satya Nadella called it a fine example of the importance of teamwork, a core focus for him when he became Microsoft's CEO, and James Mattis included it on his list of favorite books. Ryan Holiday counted it among the best books he read in 2014.