My name is Peter Mallory, and I recently spent seven years researching a four-volume, 2,500-page celebration of rowing as sport, and as of early 2012 The Sport of Rowing is complete and in the hands of readers worldwide.
Since then, I spent three rewarding years as the men’s rowing coach of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California and put out several more books.
The first book was a Kindle Edition of the complete works of the incomparable early 20th Century rowing coach, Steve Fairbairn. For decades, Steve’s books have been rare to the point of commanding prices of $1,000 and more (when you could even find a copy for sale). Now, for the first time ever, all of Steve’s writings are available together in a new edition with new introductions and reformatted illustrations and additional images throughout. And we have made sure the price is affordable for everyone.
My second recent literary effort has been the Kindle-format 3rd Edition of my rowing memoir, An Out-of-Boat Experience. The previous editions have been out of print for more than ten years. I have made a couple of corrections and added a bunch of new stories and more than a hundred new images.
My third effort has been the remarkable Leander Club: The First 200 Years, of which I wrote the first two chapters.
My most recent literary effort has as editor of the first two annual editions of Rowing Tales, collections of favorite rowing stories from over the centuries and around the world. The 2017 and 2018 edition are still available, along with later editions.
And I continue to speak as a rowing historian around the world and continue to consult with individual athletes and coaches on optimal rowing technique.
However, since the Summer of 2018 I have turned my passion to a new book project: More Than Rowing: Kent School Boat Club, The First 100 Years. Publication is scheduled for the Spring of 2022, the one hundredth anniversary of the founding of Kent Crew, and I look forward with real gusto to three years of research and collaboration with the Kent staff and with former Kent rowers and their families.
I will discuss this project further in another section of this website.
Whether you are interested in me as an author/historian or as a mentor/consultant/coach, this award-winning website is intended for you. There is a gallery of historic photos along with excerpts and international reviews of my master work, The Sport of Rowing, along with an archive of all my blogs, as well as information about me. Enjoy!
The Publishing Event of 2011 Has Become the Precious Possession of Today!
The Sport of Rowing indeed took the rowing world by storm in 2011, but we all know that it is The Boys in the Boat that has taken the ENTIRE world by storm in 2014, and I couldn’t recommend it to you more highly. I am privileged to number its author, Daniel James Brown, among my very good friends, and here is a recent quote from him:
“Peter Mallory’s majestic The Sport of Rowing is hands down the definitive history of the sport. The product of exquisite scholarship, it is chock full of colorful anecdotes and fascinating facts. I have no doubt that 100 years from now serious students of the sport will still be reading it with relish.”
I must return the compliment. Dan’s book is an instant classic. It, too, will be devoured by a succession of new generations a century from now.
You will find the story of the 1936 University of Washington Olympic Crew in both our books, but Dan also gives us the life stories of these remarkable young men who came of age in boats during the Great Depression.
My own book covers not a single extraordinary crew but rather the entire sweep of rowing history. It contains wonderful stories and compelling tales, some told for the very first time, as well as photos and images from historic films, many long forgotten, along with the words of athletes and coaches who have made rowing history. My book also addresses how the great historic boats actually rowed. This subject has never before been fully explored.
The limited collector edition, four cloth-bound volumes in a slip case, the illustrations in full color, consecutively numbered, signed and dedicated by me, went on sale to the public on Wednesday, April 6, 2011 exclusively, and it sold out in one week’s time! Many thanks. Each purchaser has been listed in both editions of the book, and these collector editions reached their new homes in early 2012.
The four-volume soft cover standard edition, same format, same content, same full color illustrations, has now also sold out in North America. I am profoundly grateful to our exclusive U.S. A limited number of standard editions remain for sale to visitors to our publisher, the River & Rowing Museum, both in Henley-on-Thames, England, as well as on the British Rowperfect Website. The price is 150 British pounds, and then if you live outside of the United Kingdom you also have to get it shipped, and that can be expensive since the sets are so bulky and heavy.
A Few Collector Sets of The Sport of Rowing Still Available!
I am pleased to officially announce that while there are no more standard sets left in America, there are indeed still available a very few of the rare collector editions initially held back by the publisher. The American Friends of River & Rowing Museum in Henley, England, will release each of nine collector sets in return for a minimum U.S. tax-deductible charitable contribution of $5,000. They will go on a first come, first served basis. If you are interested, you may contact me directly.
Remember, there were only 300 collector editions printed, and there will never be another printing. Each hardbound set in its slipcase is consecutively numbered, signed and will be dedicated to you by me personally. Not a penny of your charitable contribution will go to me but rather to support the good works of the River & Rowing Museum, the happiest place in the happiest town on Earth.
Several collector sets have already been presented by me and the museum to individuals who have donated $5,000 or more. I can say with conviction that this book would never have become a reality without the enormous generosity of individuals around the World and especially in the American rowing community. For this we are very grateful.
Now, I wouldn’t blame anyone for thinking just about now, “How on God’s Green Earth could one set of books, no matter how long and how good, be worth $5,000 to me?” That’s a very good question. For an answer, I encourage you to click on the Reviews tab on the orange menu above on this web page.
Seriously! DO IT RIGHT NOW!! I will let a few of the truly greats in the world rowing community who already have their sets speak on behalf of The Sport of Rowing.
You will find all my blogs archived on this website.
Also, friend me on Facebook. You will find some great photos from my rowing and coaching career.
Since August 2006, excerpts from this book have been available. More recently, additional excerpts have begun appearing on other websites in Italy, Britain and the U.S.
Here are some of the links:
- Row2k Features
- Rowperfect/Great Britain
- Italian National Association of Coaches
- Pocock Classic Cedar Singles
- Olga Skachko’s blog in Belorussian!
You may be interested to know that until 1 January 2021 only around 10% of the final four-volume 2,500 page book had ever appeared on the internet. Now the book is available in its entirety, though not for download. Many thanks to World Rowing for offering to make my life’s work more accesible worldwide, and I welcome feedback from my new readers.
My book contains the words of the rowing community more than my own, and that is how it should be. History is the collective memory of a culture. They say there’s nothing new under the sun, and that’s especially true in the great sport of rowing. The very same questions we ask today were already being asked and answered before 1830! There is so much wisdom and passion bound up in the hopes and dreams, the accomplishments and failures of the brave men and women who have pulled oars for recreation or sport since the 1700s. They form our collective rowing heritage. I am so honored to have written this compendium to tell their stories before they are entirely lost in the fog of passing time.
Press releases of sponsors
Starting in 2022 – we have created a section with press releases from our sponsors. Each sponsor who took part in the life of the site will have the opportunity to leave material about their company in our section! And we’d like to introduce our diamond sponsors:
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