Why We Swim
by
54/99
Critics' Rating Index
54/99
Readers' Rating Index
78/99
Scholars' Citation Index
66/99
Volume of Reviews
86/99
Volume of Reader Ratings
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About This Book
An immersive, unforgettable, and eye-opening perspective on swimming—and on human behavior itself. We swim in freezing Arctic waters and piranha-infested rivers to test our limits. We swim for pleasure, for exercise, for healing. But humans, unlike other animals that are drawn to water, are not natural-born swimmers. We must be taught. Our evolutionary ancestors learned for survival; now, in the twenty-first century, swimming is one of the most popular activities in the world.Why We Swim is propelled by stories of Olympic champions, a Baghdad swim club that meets in Saddam Hussein's palace pool, modern-day Japanese samurai swimmers, and even an Icelandic fisherman who improbably survives a wintry six-hour swim after a shipwreck. New York Times contributor Bonnie Tsui, a swimmer herself, dives into the deep, from the San Francisco Bay to the South China Sea, investigating what about water—despite its dangers—seduces us and why we come back to it again and again.
Reviews
"This fascinating look at the positive impact swimming has had on our lives throughout history might leave most readers eager to get back in the water as soon as possible."
"Bonnie Tsui's Why We Swim, an enthusiastic and thoughtful work mixing history, journalism and elements of memoir, is ostensibly focused on those who do swim, rather than those who don't."
"...[an] eclectic, well-crafted survey ..."
"In theory, Tsui's globe- and topic-hopping structure could make the book seem scattered."
"An absorbing, wide-ranging story of humans' relationship with the water."
"That 372,000 people die from drowning each year is one of the most sobering statistics in a book that is crowded with numbers and facts without being weighed down."
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