It's my favorite weekend in Boston--it's Head of the Charles! There is so much I adore about Head of the Charles--I love that it's a perfect way to spend fall days outside before it gets too cold. You'll find me eating fair food (you have not had a caramel apple until you've had a fresh-dipped caramel apple from the Boy Scout troop that's at HotC every year), petting adorable dogs, and, of course, watching the crews race down the river. It is a sight both absolutely beautiful and incredbily fierce. And, I love when you can hear the coxes swearing like sailors to get their boys or girls to go harder, faster, stronger.
Folks are usually pretty surprised when they find out I'm a crew fan, but I have been for quite a while--ever since college, when I discovered a high school crush rowed for his university. Ah, the early years of internet stalking. (I'll take this moment to remind you that I went to a women's college) In my quest to find pictures of my darling dreamboat I ended up on sites like this one, and I ended up sticking around longer than was probably necessary, but it is how I learned about one of the best books on sports ever--David Halberstam's The Amateurs. It's a classic.
If, after reading The Amateurs, you want more on rowing, my suggestion would be Mind Over Water by Craig Lambert, but you'll probably realize that what you actually want is more of Mr. Halberstam. You could pick up The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War, the book he finished just before his death earlier this year, which has been getting fantastic reviews. But, in keeping with the Boston sports theme, I would suggest either The Education of a Coach, Halberstam's exploration of Patriot's coach Bill Belichick or The Teammates: A Portrait of Friendship , a look at some of the greats of Boston Red Sox baseball. Happy reading!
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