Why We Swim
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Why We Swim
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Narrated by:
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Angie Kane
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Written by:
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Bonnie Tsui
About this listen
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 21st century, we swim in freezing Arctic waters and piranha-infested rivers to test our limits. Swimming is an introspective and silent sport in a chaotic and noisy age; it’s therapeutic for both the mind and body; and it's an adventurous way to get from point A to point B. It's also one route to that elusive, ecstatic state of flow. These reasons, among many others, make swimming 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 it is about water - despite its dangers - that seduces us, tempting us to come back to it again and again.
©2020 Bonnie Tsui (P)2020 Dreamscape Media, LLCWhat listeners say about Why We Swim
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- CMGLinton
- 2023-07-10
Easy to come back to.
I started listening back in the spring and picked up again today and finished it. Great remember why o swim!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sheila
- 2021-09-24
Great Book
Eloquent and beautifully written. A love letter to the water. Narrator is excellent and engaging.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Linda Brett
- 2021-05-17
Amazing
Totally fascinating history of swimming. Not a dull moment! Learned a lot about current swimming passions like Oceans Seven. Inspiring
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Hannah
- 2021-08-13
Buoyant, beautiful, breathtaking
This is a truly extraordinary, gorgeously written book!
Tsui takes you on a fluid, poetic, and fascinating ride from the origin of humanity and our connection with fish, to the times of ancient swimmers when the Sahara desert was green, to the communities of people around the world today who sculpt their lives around water, to the competitive lanes of the Olympics, and more.
You can clearly hear the authors mirth and love of swimming in her choice of prose:
“To live deliberately as a swimmer means that you are a seeker, a chaser of the ocean’s blue corduroy, a follower of river veins.”
I loved this book, I leave it having learned so much about swimming, our beautiful, inescapable connection to it and I’ve fallen in even deeper love with water and in the act of immersing myself in it than I already was.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- BD
- 2022-11-22
Ok
This book is loaded with flowery language and a misty-eyed tone that sadly misses the mark for my tastes. There were definitely good bits of history and good answers to “why we swim”, and I appreciated those parts very much and don’t want to underplay them. The shortness of the book, though, coupled with what felt at times like long poetic indulgences, sadly left me feeling like there’s not as much substance to swimming as other pursuits like running or cycling, and I am a fan of all three and have found books on all that draw me in. In short, I wish there were more hard substance, because I already love swimming and don’t need the sport to be made to feel like a linguistic poem to love it more — there must be poetry books already to that end. The author seems to have a good heart, I was simply looking for a deeper research effort.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- B
- 2021-07-14
To all who enjoy swimming and floating
I am grateful for this book. Best enjoyed at 1.0x speed. A delightful listen for all who enjoy the water element. It's not about performance swimming although one chapter is about that. It's about what swimming means tp different people and in different parts of the world, the emotional physical and spiritual benefits of swimming or floating, and the cultural barriers swimming has been breaking. It's a wonderful, relaxing and centering read/listen.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- monx006
- 2024-11-19
Great Read for a Swimmer
A nice read (listen) for someone who swims. Had some cool stories about various swimmers throughout life. Would definitely recommend for anyone who is, was, or wants to be a swimmer.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Brent B.
- 2021-08-09
Didn’t compel me to want to swim
The author clearly enjoys swimming, but I think they need to make a more compelling story to make the reader invest in swimming.
This was the effect I got when I read “Born to Run.” I’m not a runner, but they made good points that made me want to start running.
After reading this book, I do not feel compelled to start swimming.
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