Assault on Lake Casitas

Rating:
Summary: If you can put this book down you must be grabbing your oar!
Review: An impossible dream. This book takes you inside the head of someone determined to win an Olympic rowing gold medal. In spite of every hurdle thrown at him, Brad Lewis forces his way to the finish line. He leaves nothing on the table in his relentless and unique approach to reaching rowing perfection. The odds against Brad even making the team are incredible, let alone winning a medal. This book is for anyone wondering what it really means to "go for it!"

Rating:
Summary: a great rowing story well told
Review: as a long time, fanatic, and not especially talented rower i was pretty surprised i had never heard of this book when lewis himself foisted it on a friend of mine at the 2004 head of the charles. after leafing past the disturbing cover art, the book itself traces his long quest for gold culminating in the 1984 LA olympics. this book is all rowing, so if you are interested in crew, or any seriously competitive athletics, like i suspect you'll find reading it to be the purest pleasure, if not, let's just say there's no love angle to carry it along. but for those in pursuit of excellence: what a tremendous read! lewis is relentless, and he's a superb story-teller. i'm so happy to finally discover a companion to the only other great rowing book i've ever found, also culminating in the 1984 olympics, david halberstam's `the amateurs'.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Book on Rowing. Period.
Review: Brad Lewis' "Assault on Lake Casitas" is bar none the finest book ever written, not just on the sport of rowing, but on the unflaging pursuit of excellence. A powerfully gripping read from cover to cover, Lewis's description of the training, trials, heats and finals of his 1984 olympic campaign captures the essence of competitive rowing. Like many of the other reviewers, I too read Lewis' heart stopping description of his Grand Final race before races-no other book captures with such power the emotions which crew illicits. A triumph of determination and perseverence, Lewis' story is a great, great read.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Book on Rowing. Period.
Review: Brad Lewis' "Assault on Lake Casitas" is bar none the finest book ever written, not just on the sport of rowing, but on the unflaging pursuit of excellence. A powerfully gripping read from cover to cover, Lewis's description of the training, trials, heats and finals of his 1984 olympic campaign captures the essence of competitive rowing. Like many of the other reviewers, I too read Lewis' heart stopping description of his Grand Final race before races-no other book captures with such power the emotions which crew illicits. A triumph of determination and perseverence, Lewis' story is a great, great read.

Rating:
Summary: You Will Never Forget This Book
Review: I bought this book a couple of years ago when I was doing some rowing. I also bought it because of the great reviews at Amazon.com. I will add my voice to those who have written here: this is a very special story and is much more than a book about rowing--it is a book about overcoming obstacles, persevering in the face of unbelievable odds and understanding that the process is as valuable and prized as the final result. It is not a book about the means justifying the ends. It is a book about building a foundation and building upon that foundation and not taking any shortcuts. Lewis is a superb writer and the speed of his narrative matches the strength of his oar strokes. I have given it as a gift to people I really care about.

Rating:
Summary: Guts, vision, Brad Lewis got the gold!!
Review: I read this book in one sitting, and was completely intrigued by the world of rowing which I knew nothing about before. These guys are insane, training hard with no big bucks down the line, and Brad Lewis had to not only fight against pain but against the "old-boy" silver jockstrap preppy rowing establishment, which stood in his way. Well, the good news is that he went for his dream, and realized it. The dude copped the gold!! The book is gripping, the prose is clean, the emotions very honest, and there is no drippy sentiment to muddle the read. What I don't understand is why the squeeky little pre-pubescent tumblers get all the headlines, when these giant brutes of rowers compete in a sport which is ancient -- from Polynesia to the galley slaves, these crew guys are throwbacks. This is fascinating stuff. I'm glad I stumbled on this book and I recommend it to anyone interested in America or American sports. Ultimately it is ! ! about one man's assault on the limits, personal, political and mental. Check this book out.

Rating:
Summary: Great inspiration to rowers
Review: I'm a rower and I didn't know anything about this book before I read it. I met Brad Lewis while I was at the San Diego Crew classic in March 2003 and I was very impressed with his character, so I bought his book. The competetive shark found in the book was chillingly inspirational on what it takes to be a champion, but I must admit that the Brad in the eighties is not the same Brad of today. Ever since he stopped competing, he has calmed that anger within him. I think it has made him a better Journalist because his writing keeps getting better.
Read this book if you are interested in knowing what goes through the head of a competetive rower and the sacrifices Brad made to get that gold medal.

Rating:
Summary: Thank You Brad!
Review: This book changed my life. It took the feelings I had about rowing, life, perseverance and captured them in Brad Lewis' beautiful prose. Intensity of spirit and determination have never been captured like this, thank you Brad...you are a gifted writer and athlete...NOBODY BEATS US! I read the chapter of the race countless times over four years of collegiate rowing, and the words of your book became a mantra for our eight...The Idiot Years is also a very insightful and moving book of reflection and regret...Wanted: Rowing Coach is a blast...When will we get another work of fiction/nonfiction? You are an inspiration to me!

Rating:
Summary: Vivid and inspiring.
Review: This is a book for any thinking endurance athlete--and secondarily for anyone who wants to feel the ultimate meaning of the word "commitment." It's a bit frightening to see into the mind of a man like Brad Lewis, who trusts himself, through years of hard training, experimentation, and self-deceptionless self-scrutinizing, to know what he needs to do to achieve his goal. It's a human book, too; Lewis is no "Terminator," willing to detsroy all in his path to reach his goal--but he can come close at inevitable moments of self-doubt and fatigue along the way. Some books can tell a good story; this one makes you live it as Lewis must have lived it. Tremendous book--and better the fourth time you read it. And you will. Buy five copies; you'll be giving them away as presents.