One's entire future can be determined in the blink of an eye and can make or break their entire dreams. In Stephen Kieslinger’s The Shell Game, this is especially true and left me holding my breath with the turn of each page. The Shell Game is an autobiography written by Kieslinger his senior year at Yale while he was training for the 1980 Olympic team. For this reason, I will refer to Stephen as the main character of the novel and Kielinger as the author in my review. The book is a glimpse into the world of a unique, but wonderful sport and the quest for athletic excellence.

Stephen is unathletic Californian that joins the prestigious Yale crew hoping to expand his social circles in college. The sport quickly captivates him and engulfs his life, and he soon becomes the youngest member of the varsity crew. The book begins in the midst of a decade long rivalry between Harvard and Yale and their annual crew race at Gales Ferry that Yale has lost since 1962. I found Gales ferry to be written as most important location in the book because of kieslinger’s memories and emotions clearly attached in the way he describes in the book. “We turned again at a plaque detailing the history of the ferry and found ourselves bouncing up and down on the familiar gravel road. The shell trailer had proceeded behind us, and with its presence came the excitement of knowing that after eleven months the ferry was alive again”(Kieslinger). The ferry is described as being alive in this quote almost as a close friend Stephen meets each summer. Stephen has blood, sweat and tears attached to each moment of this book and it shows in Kieslinger’s writing.

I believe the intent of The Shell Game was to educate non-rowers of this eccentric sport and show everyone the Apotheosis of athleticism through an intense perspective. I have been rowing now for almost four year and because of this I found part of the book to be repetitive while he describes the process of rowing, erging and more basics of the sport. However, for someone that has no idea of what rowing is this would be an upside because Keislinger was able to fully capture the image of the sport while telling his story.

The obvious ending of The Shell Game for most especially history buffs left me wanting more for Stephen but Keislinger was able to teach me as a reader a different hidden story of friendship that he learned. As a reader I was questioning the decision he made at the end of the book that would determine the entirety of his life but, it was the new perspective on life that makes this book so interesting to read. If you are someone that is looking for a book that would give a view of the highest level of dedication to athletics or the importance of friendship and teamwork The Shell Game would be the perfect fit.