Description
Book SynopsisHarvard University coach and acclaimed rowing author, Dan Boyne, tells a humorous story of his first year of freshman crew, including a sub plot of personal redemption against an insufferable football player who has bullied him throughout high school.
After being accepted at Trinity College in Hartford, CT, Boyne decides to take up rowing, the only sport that takes place far off campus, on the adventurous waters of The Connecticut River. There, he quickly experiences the unique rigors, rewards, and colorful personalities of the sport, not knowing that his nemesis has decided to try out for crew, at rival school Coast Guard Academy.
As racing season approaches, Boyne becomes part of an exceptional freshman lightweight boat, with high hopes to win the National Championships in Philadelphia that year, but his final fears are realized when he discovers that his old high school archenemy is also doing well, and rowing in the very same position as he isthe seven seat.
Trade ReviewThe Seven Seat is a must have for your rowing library. Dan Boyne beautifully captures the thrill of being the ‘newbie' - new to college, (an elite college, no less), new to taking the top bunk in a small dorm room, new to competitive rowing. In this work of ‘creative non-fiction,’ Dan describes college rowing, ’70’s style: leaden boats, wooden oars, cotton t-shirts, and no Concept II ergs. Score one! But that’s just the beginning. Read on. You’ll be glad you did. -- Brad Alan Lewis, Olympic Gold Medalist in rowing and author of Assault on Lake Casitas
With Dan Boyne’s books The Red Rose Crew and Kelly: A Father, A Son, An American Quest, he proved to be an author who knows how to tell good rowing stories. Now, Boyne is back with a new rowing tale, The Seven Seat: A True Story of Rowing, Redemption, and Revenge, a work that he himself calls “creative non-fiction,” in which he takes a more active role as both a narrator and a character. Boyne shows in this wonderful “saga” that he is a master of portraying American rowing history—whether it’s about a famous women’s crew, an American rowing legend, or rowing at Trinity College, Hartford, in the 1970s. -- Göran R. Buckhorn, editor of Mystic Seaport Museum Magazine and founder and editor of Hear The Boat Sing
Beautifully written, Dan Boyne’s The Seven Seat, illuminates the redemptive power of rowing. A period piece set at Trinity College in the seventies, the themes are as relevant today as ever. I can’t help but believe that Dan’s storytelling prowess derives from his experience rowing in the seven seat. He translates life’s rhythm with technical precision and great timing. Through the lens of collegiate rowing, Dan’s newest book is a perfect catch. -- Carie Brand Graves, two-time Olympic medalist in rowing
With a droll voice that is as smooth and brisk as a river at dawn, Dan Boyne not only tells the story of a heated rivalry, but also imparts the magic of reinventing oneself through a time-honored sport whose tribal quality is the envy those outside its closed community. It’s also an at-times a hilarious memoir of college life in the 1970s Animal house meets the boathouse in this trim and well-rowed story. -- Rick Rinehart, author of Men of Kent: Ten Boys, a Fast Boat, and the Coach Who Made Them Champions
