"father-in-law’s gun collection"
Even the LRB's copy editing has gone to hell.
Wow Mark
yo have a real thin skin if you saw anti-Americanism in there, as for the class structure in the UK, it exists and it does place restrictions on activities to this day. Becoming a rowing captain after attending a comprehensive and not rowing prior to university is a pretty remarkable achievement. If it had been football (soccer) then any comment on class would have been a jab. In this case it was a valid observation of lad's prowess in the sport.