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Book Review of Why We Swim

Why We Swim
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Helpful Score: 1


Because this book mostly concerns extreme swimming, not ordinary people swimming, I question the "we" in its title. I swim every day I can, either in a lake or the ocean (sometimes in a pool), but I didn't find that much to relate to in the book, or much that fit my own experience of swimming.

With that said, parts of the book are quite captivating, especially the part about an Icelandic man who survived a horrific boat disaster in cold waters and a long swim to safety; a too-short section on Lord Byron swimming the Hellespont; and a chapter on Japanese martial artists who do amazing taichi-like maneuvers in the water.