I just finished this book. I found it humorous, brutally honest, entertaining, a nice light read. But in the end it was pretty unsatisfying.
No doubt the outrageous goal of not just making a trials cut but making the team was a stunt, and not a bad one, since it gets our attention fast. And its apparent when reading it that he's really focusing on making the trials cut, which he didn't achieve in his 20s.
What's great about the book was that he's described just about all the crazy ideas most of us have had at some point in our training & competing, and done it in a fun way. What's maddening is that the tone of the book is inconsistent. I'm sure he had a deadline, but he didn't have the guts to delay publication 'till after the outcome of his quest was determined.
But how many readable books about master's swimming to we get to chose from?
George, Susan probably wouldn't thank you for bringing her name into this discussion and because her sport involves firearms one would wish not to tick her off.
Actually the shooting sports are yet another area bedeviled by the drug questions, in their case beta blockers for example.
It’s a fact that Carter is slow compared with world-class swimmers . But I don't see why that should color one's judgment of Carter's book.
If Mark Spitz, the fastest swimmer of my generation, were to swim his best times, he would struggle to keep up with today’s top college swimmers, much less the Olympic swimmers. In fact, when it comes to swimming, sooner or later we’re all losers. And if only "winners" can stand up for swimming (and, in fairness, I’m slower than Carter, and by a lot), then this sport is destined for obscurity.
This book seems to be accessible to swimmers and those not yet in the water. Past Olympics have inspired more people to get into the pool, and the release of this book is timed to help tap that wave of enthusiasm and show that, while a shot at the Olympic team may be out of reach, an hour in the pool is within reach and is worth pursuing. If it does that, then this book is a project worthy of applause.:applaud:
