Why We Swim
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4.4 • 5 Ratings
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- £5.99
Publisher Description
'A jewel of a book, a paean to the wonders of water and our place within it' James Nestor, bestselling of author of Breath
'Glorious' The New York Times
Take a dive into the deep and discover what it is about water that seduces us, heals us and brings us together.
Join writer and swimmer Bonnie Tsui as she explores the unique skill of swimming from the five angles of survival, wellbeing, community, competition and flow. Propelled by stories of polar swim champions, a Baghdad swim club, Olympian athletes and modern-day samurai swimmers, Why We Swim takes us around the globe in a remarkable, all-encompassing account of the world of swimming. This is a joyous meditation on our innate connection to water and a true celebration of the wonders of swimming.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Journalist Tsui (American Chinatown) opens her eclectic, well-crafted survey with a fascinating story about an Icelandic fisherman who swam six kilometers in 41 degree water after his boat capsized. He survived thanks to a "biological quirk" an unusually thick layer of body fat, more comparable to a seal's than to the average human's. From this starting point, Tsui looks at five different reasons swimming is important to humans, dedicating a section to each: survival, well-being, community, competition, and "flow" (the pursuit of the sublime). Characters like the opening chapter's "real-life selkie" a folkloric creature halfway between a human and a seal and marathon swimmer Kim Chambers, who took up the sport after almost losing a leg to injury, appear throughout, along with scientific facts, personal stories, and social history. Tsui shares her own history as a swimmer, and swimming's place in her family history her parents' Hollywood-worthy first meeting was at a Hong Kong swimming pool in 1968, she a "bikini-clad beauty," he a "bronzed lifeguard." In a chapter about the mindset of champion swimmers, she writes, "The view from within is what I'm after." Her overarching question is about "our human relationship to water" and "how immersion can open our imaginations." Readers will enjoy getting to know the people and the facts presented in this fascinating book.
