Lynn Sherr
History
I figured this was an appropriate book to read right now since the Olympics are going on (and because I’m the future Mrs. Michael Phelps). I’ve always loved swimming, especially in the hot Arizona summers, so I was intrigued to read about its history and Lynn Sherr’s own personal triumph of swimming across the Hellespont.
Putting aside my misgivings about how boring this book might be, I was pleasantly surprised by how interesting it was. Ms. Sherr discusses how long the sport of swimming has been around (there are hieroglyphics in Egypt that depict it) and she even gets into the art of the backstroke and butterfly. There’s also a section on why African-Americans aren’t as into swimming (apparently, there were a lot of segregated pools back in the day and though progress has been made on that front, today African-American women hate to get their hair wet). It’s a short book, too, so it makes for a quick read.
Anyone who’s interested in swimming will enjoy this book. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to slip on my swimsuit and jump into the pool.
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