Episode 96: “The Clustercus,” or David Halberstam’s The Amateurs, Part II

About this episode

The episode discusses the second half of David Halberstam's nonfiction account of the 1984 sculling Olympic trials, focusing on the drama and outcomes of the athletes involved.

In the second half of Halberstam's nonfiction account of the 1984 sculling Olympic trials, we go to the Olympics, to see how Biglow, Lewis, Wood, et al fare at the world's most famous sports event. 5 major characters each have big stakes, and while the actual events cluster together, Halberstam keeps the reader focused on the drama. The results are predictably mixed, and one wonders if the work these Olympians go through is worth it. Structurally, the second half of the book remains tight, perhaps even tighter than the first half, and all of the loose ends, questions, and promises of the first half are fulfilled in the second half. It's not entirely atisfying, but neither, as we learn, is amateur athletics in a low-glamor sport.

People in this episode

Host: Upper Middlebrow

Topics covered

• Olympic trials
• amateur athletics
• sports drama
• nonfiction literature
• character stakes

Keywords

• David Halberstam
• The Amateurs
• 1984 Olympics
• sculling
• amateur athletics
• sports events
• character development

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Amateurs

More episodes of Upper Middlebrow

• Episode 101: ‘What Thrums Below,’ or Herman Melville’s Billy Budd · May 18, 2026 · 59 min
• Episode 100: “Dutiful Dreams,” or Project Hail Mary 2026 Film · May 4, 2026 · 54 min
• Project Hail Mary Part I (REPOST) · March 12, 2026 · 1h 14m
• Episode 99: More Robot Friends!: Isaac Asimov’s ‘Robot Visions’ Part 1 with Justin Reich. · December 1, 2025 · 54 min
• Episode 98: ‘Minor League Stew,’ or John Feinstein’s Where Nobody Knows Your Name, Part II · November 17, 2025 · 52 min
• Episode 97: “Baseball’s Ballast,” or John Feinstein’s Where Nobody Knows Your Name: Life in The Minor Leagues of Baseball · November 4, 2025 · 59 min