Get your hands on a copy of the Head of the Charles Regatta's new book First 50, celebrating 50 years of the regatta.

Every October, when the foliage along the river is at its peak, the Charles is awash with thousands of racing shells from small high schools, fabled clubs, powerhouse collegiate programs and Olympic teams from around the world.” So begins Boston Globe reporter John Powers’ keenly observed history of The Head of the Charles Regatta: First 50. What one Olympic coxswain has called “the best regatta on the planet” was cooked up in a kitchen in 1964, when a handful of rowers hammered out their plan for America’s first head race. Today the Regatta is on nearly every rower’s must-do list, attracting more than 11,000 competitors in 2014. The Head of the Charles Regatta: First 50 showcases the three-mile Course with seven bridges and two make-or-break turns that runs between historic Boston and Cambridge; the annual flood of competitors young and old, novice and elite; the talented corps of volunteers and Cambridge Boat Club stalwarts; and the countless thousands of spectators who line the riverbanks for two unforgettable days.