"It was not a celebrated event. It was an Olympic trial, to be sure, and the trial of a sport with unusually passionate participants," (p. 1).

"Nonetheless, Parker, an intensely competitive man himself, was intrigued by the three-way competition he had been watching," (p. 17).

"The pain was such a given that all oarsmen who competed deserved to never be questioned," (p. 44).

"Most highly competitive athletes give off a tangible scent of their ego and drive; it is impossible to be around them without feeling their ambition or watching them stake out territory," (p. 45).

"His career at Harvard was a distinguished albeit anonymous one," (p. 70).

"The flame of Olympic glory had flickered just enough to keep him rowing," (p. 99).

"On this weekend Lewis saw himself as a warrior, stalking the enemy," (p. 102).

"Despite the eastern snobbery towards California oarsmen, he thought that Californians had a genuine advantage over the Easterners...