The Doctor Rocks the Boat

I had an earlier post announcing that this book by Robin Hathaway would be coming out. It is now published so I checked this book out from my local library and found that it was a fast read. Twin themes of medicine and rowing are intertwined. However, the problem I had with this story was that the author made the sport of rowing seem much more dangerous than it is - implying that it is hard to get out of the shoes. The story includes a near drowning (the guy was unconscious so getting out of the shoes wasn't the real cause of the problem) and a drowning. Both of these incidents imply/state that being tied into the shoes is dangerous and that it is difficult to get out of the shoes. I don't flip too often but in my six years of rowing I don't remember anyone say they ever had problems getting out of the shoes when they flipped, especially when the shoes described in the book were Velcro vs. laces. Any thoughts?

See more about the author at: http://www.robinhathaway.com/author_info.html

Palais de Justice - Short Story

The short story Palais de Justice in the book Ellis Island and Other Stories by Mark Helprin is a look at the psychological aspect of rowing dealing with the idea “that if two boats pulled up even it nearly always becomes a contest.” (p.95) Read this short story of only 12 pages to find out about the contest of an older man in a heavy wooden boat vs. a younger man in a newer lightweight single.