David Halberstam wrote The Amateurs about the 1984 United States Olympic Rowing Trials. The author was alternatively fascinated with current affairs, American culture and sports. Many of his works seek to determine why events unfold as they do and his athletic works try to explain why people motivate themselves and how they work together. The Amateurs tells the stories of young men who are auditioning for the single sculling boat in the upcoming Los Angeles Olympics. In 1984, there was little media coverage of the sport so there is little chance for fame and fortune. The Soviet Union and Eastern …