Why We Swim

Summary:

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. (Summary and cover courtesy of goodreads.com)

Review:

Tsui explores elements of the history of swimming, why and how humans are compelled to swim.  It is one part historical and one part memoir, blending together into a lovely narrative on a topic that superficially wouldn’t seem enough for a book.  The book does not cover all of history of swimming, but it does touch on five key sections: survival, well-being, community, competition, and flow.

Some of the unique elements in the book are the interviews with many competitive and amateur athletes who speak to their passion of swimming and that has driven them to their accomplishments.  As a former competitive swimming this one touched close to home and renewed my interest to pick up swimming again.

Rating: 4 stars!

Who should read it? Folks interested in learning a little more about the history of swimming or found love in movement through water.