The Sphinx of the Charles: a Year at Harvard with Harry Parker Free
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FREE THE SPHINX OF THE CHARLES: A YEAR AT HARVARD WITH HARRY PARKER PDF Toby Ayer | 200 pages | 01 Oct 2016 | ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD | 9781493026531 | English | Guilford, United States The Sphinx of the Charles: A Year at Harvard with Harry Parker by Toby Ayer Five decades of Harvard oarsmen returned to the Charles on Saturday morning for a ceremonial row past Newell Boathouse to pay homage to Harry Parker, their master and commander who died in June after a final triumphant season. This is such a compelling experience. Nearly 40 eights, fours, quads, doubles, and singles formed an upstream procession past the imposing Victorian edifice where Parker had occupied a tiny corner office The Sphinx of the Charles: A Year at Harvard with Harry Parker They came together, as well, in Sydney and London, where other Crimson rowers took to the water for a salute. There was a five-ringed reunion as well. Vyacheslav Ivanov, the legendary Soviet sculler who won three gold medals in the single and competed against Parker in the Olympic final, flew in from Moscow and paddled out in a double with Don Spero, his American rival in Jim Dietz, the Northeastern grad who sculled in two Games, was back on the river. So was the Olympic eight that Parker coached. When his former oarsmen talked about Parker, it was with equal parts affection, admiration, and awe. A five-minute chat was a filibuster from the man they called The Sphinx. Parker never gave a pep talk. As the procession was coming to an end, three of his more recent varsities broke off to race each other to the bridge. When the crew came back The Sphinx of the Charles: A Year at Harvard with Harry Parker a reunion row, Parker went out on the water with them, orchestrating a race with his daughter stroking the winning boat, and then had lunch. Two days later Parker slipped out of consciousness and was ferried across the Styx, his final river. On Saturday came the final gathering of crimson-hued hundreds at Newell, from whose bays Parker loved to launch golf balls toward Memorial Drive. John Powers can be reached at jpowers globe. Email to a Friend. View Comments. A flotilla with stars from past squads provided an ideal tribute to Harvard coach Harry Parker, who died in June. Harvard salutes the late Harry Parker on Charles - The Boston Globe Legendary Harvard coach Harry Parker was many things to many people; mentor, rival, antagonist, and many more, and never simply a rowing coach. Parker was also almost famously unknowable, and in his 50 years of coaching at Harvard, from until his death in June ofhe left a trail of myth and legend alongside a long list of accomplishments. Ayer is a rowing coach and teacher at the Salisbury School in Connecticut. An accomplished oarsman himself, at MIT and later at Oxford, Ayer draws on the observations and experiences of his year as an assistant coach with the Harvard heavyweight men primarily during the season. The book is divided into sections corresponding to the months of the season, and follows Parker and the Harvard men through fall racing, winter training, spring selection, and the racing and championship seasons. Interspersed throughout are Ayer's descriptions of the Harvard environment and training sessions, and descriptions of Parker's interactions with his athletes, assistant coaches, and family. Ayer's writing style is lively, and he moves easily between in-depth "rower-ese" and readable explications of rowing and training minutia designed to reach non-rowers. Ayer also has a fine, spare sense of humor that infuses the book with an occasional light touch, which keeps the book grounded and away from veering into straight reportage. Though somewhat light on deep technical details, the book lifts out a few key details that will doubtless intrigue anyone interested in modern rowing history. A case in point is Ayer's treatment of seat-racing, the modern form of which Parker is widely credited with popularizing in the early s. Appearing throughout the book are recollections from former Harvard oarsmen and coxswains, spanning the Parker years from the early s to the end of his career. In these reminiscences and mini-essays, the writers attempt to quantify the impact that Parker has had on their lives, both as a person and a personage, and it's to Ayer's immense credit that he includes in these recollections pieces from athletes who don't see themselves as unalloyed acolytes of Parker. Acknowledging that Parker could be difficult to get along with does nothing to diminish the scope of his accomplishments; on the contrary, it completes the picture of a competitive man, who, in addition to being The Sphinx of the Charles: A Year at Harvard with Harry Parker formidable coach was known to carry his competitiveness off the water to games of golf, croquet, and, of all things, the board game 'Monopoly. Likewise, the book does not set out to definitively define 'Harry Parker,' the person. Ayer says as much in the afterword. Who was this man? I will not be the one to explore that. Of course it is a huge irony, given Parker's tremendous competitive record at Harvard, that both Ayer's book and the other most recent book about Harry Parker and Harvard crew, Susan Saint Sing's "In the Rhythm of the Eight, A season with Harvard Crew" are both based on what was, statistically speaking, one of the worst seasons for a Harvard Varsity eight on record; without intending to impugn the oarsmen involved, the Harvard varsity was the first Crimson V8 to miss the Grand Final at the EARC Sprints in 48 years, and finished only 10th at that year's IRA Regatta, a The Sphinx of the Charles: A Year at Harvard with Harry Parker showing by Harvard's more recent standards. In any event, The Sphinx of the Charles: A Year at Harvard with Harry Parker they both pivot on the same season, Ayer's book outstrips the earlier volume in both scope and insight. One can only imagine how Ayer's book and indeed, Saint Sing's might have been different if they had chronicled some of the more spectacular recent Harvard seasons, say the triple IRA winners fromor the or varsities. Would the Harry Parker we learn about from these books have been any different? It's also possible that the rowing world might learn the most from Parker during a year when he and Harvard were not winning at their accustomed stratospheric levels; Ayer is respectful but not shy in sharing vignettes of Parker at his most emotional, after losses, at season-ending banquets, and at those moments when the mantle of leadership probably rested most heavily and publicly on him. Toby Ayer has written a fine book capturing not only Harry Parker and Harvard Men's crew during a single competitive season, but placing Parker and his achievements within the tapestry of many of those whose lives he molded, influenced or stamped in some form or another along the way. You can purchase Ayer's book here. During these unprecendented times, row2k is working hard to keep The Sphinx of the Charles: A Year at Harvard with Harry Parker coming to you; please help us keeping it coming by supporting our work! Support Us! Harry Parker, Summer photo by Susan Wood. Comments Log in to comment Posting Post Cancel. There are no Comments yet. Rowing Features. October 21 in row2k History - Chaos Edition October 21, October 21 in row2k History October 21, October 20 in row2k History - Chaos Edition October 20, October 20 in row2k History October 20, October 19 in row2k History - Chaos Edition October 19, October 19 in row2k History October 19, Rowing Headlines. Get our Newsletter! Enter your email address to receive our updates! If you rely on row2k, please support row2k! Advertiser Index. Advertise on row2k. Get Social with row2k! Enter your email address to receive our weekly newsletter. Privacy Policy. Log in to comment. Looking for something to read during COVID19? | the Rondout Rower Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Want to Read saving…. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. The Sphinx of the Char Other editions. Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Details if other :. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. Harry Parker was probably the most important figure in American rowing of the past century. His heavyweight crews at Harvard topped the leagues more consistently than any other team they won the Eastern Sprints regatta, against most of the top college crews, more than three times as often as their nearest rival. From the time they miraculously won the Harvard-Yale R Harry Parker was probably the most important figure in American rowing of the past century. From the time they miraculously won the Harvard-Yale Race at the end of his first year at the helm, his varsity didn't lose a race for six years, and they didn't lose to Yale until the Reagan administration. He coached the sons of his great oarsmen from the 60's and 70's, and at age 70 was still putting the sons to shame on a bicycle, or running the steps of the Harvard Stadium. He was respected by all, revered and adored by his rowers, and yet no one seemed to know him. The persistent myth was that he hardly The Sphinx of the Charles: A Year at Harvard with Harry Parker a word, and that his powerful mystique alone made his oarsmen great and their boats go fast.