What are your favorite swimming books?

This isn't a training book but I did find it inspirational, in a way. It's called Haunts of the Black Masseur: The Swimmer as Hero by Charles Sprawson. It's kind of a history of swimming, featuring historical figures and exotic locals. I enjoyed it, it sparked my imagination, and renewed my love of swimming.

Neat idea for a thread. I've been reading swimming books since I was a kid and got a copy of Don Schollander's biography(Deep Water--I still have it but haven't looked at it in 30 years). Haunts of a Black Massuer is the most literary swimming book I know of and is worth reading. Very different from most other books about swimming but enjoyable for the perspective it brings, and the quality of the writing. The best swimming book for learning about high level competing from the inside, or at least right alongside is, in my opinion, PH Mullen's book, Gold in the Water. Very well done. There are a couple other similar books that aren't as well done, about multiple swimmers aiming for an olympic team. There are actually quite a few enjoyable books around, which generally fall into the single swimmer biography school. For example, Breaking the Surface--about Greg Louganis. I know he was a diver, but he swam in SD CIF champs when he was in high school so I'm going to count it. The Crossing about Matthew Webb--by Kathy Watson--is very interesting. He was the first to swim the English Channel, and led an interesting, and ultimately tragic life seeking fame and fortune. You can order from Australia several interesting books about Australian open water icons, Des Renford and Shelly Taylor-Smith. The former is Nothing Great is Easy, which I enjoyed. As he neared 40, after being a pretty mediocre swimmer as an age grouper, he discovered his aptitude for swimming the English Channel, and did so 19 times. For those of us who are masters swimmers with a pretty mediocre pool career, his story resonates. The latter, Dangerous When Wet, is an interesting story about Shelly Taylor-Smith's swim career. She was a grown-up for most of the book, and an open water champion, so its a more interesting read than the usual sports biography about teenagers. If you haunt used book stores, or search on line, you might be able to find Long Distance Swimming by Gerald Forsberg. Forsberg was an English open water swimming great and reading his book, which was published in the 1950s, gives you a great perspective on open water swimming. It will make you want to try to find Morecambe Bay and swim there. A recently published book about the history of open water swimming, which I prefer to some others, is History of Open Water Swimming, by Tim Johnson. It has a nice history of open water swimming, and talks quite a bit about the history of Manhattan swimming as well as many other swims. He also includes a list of successful crossers of Catalina so you can see people you know in a book. If you know anyone who has done the crossing. Nicely done. Except for the Renford book and the Shelly Taylor Smith book, a very good place to get swimming books is the Swimming World website, www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/.../shop.asp. Those two books were available through Paul Ellercamp's website, Oceanswims.com, but he seems to have gotten out of the book business. Both of them are available at www.biblioz.com/main.php, which is an Aussie used book website. I have never used it so can't vouch for anything about it other than its apparent existence.

This one is pretty cool as well. Wind, Waves and Sunburn: A Brief History of Marathon Swimming... www.amazon.com/.../002-8424915-9250424

Beirland -"Deep Water" was one of the first swimming, or sports books for that matter that I read as a kid.....your mention of it really brought back some great memories - thanks! Now I'll have to go find a copy somewhere. Also reminds me of one of the most inspirational books of all time "Six Days to Swim” A Biography of Jeff Farrell by Jean M. Henning. Someone should update this book to show all the great things Jeff has done since -and not only in the field of swimming. Swimming books on my bookshelf: Six Days to Swim -Jeff Farrell Wind Waves and Sunburn - Conrad Wennerberg The Crossing - Kathy Watson Tumble Turns - Shane Gould Dangerous When Wet - Shelley Taylor Smith Dover Solo - Marcia Cleveland Gold in the Water -PH Mullen History of Open Water Swimming - Tim Johnson Haunts of the Black Masseur -Charles Sprawson The Magnificent Bastards - Joint Army-Marine Defense of Dong Ha, 1968 (Ok not a swimming book but includes info on one of USMS's great swimmers (Marine) C. W. (Bill) Muter)

"Awaken The Olympian Within" was a total inspiring and motivating book to me.

Diana Nyad I was in one race that she entered it happened to be my last Marathon race

Originally posted by F'ueco This one is pretty cool as well. Wind, Waves and Sunburn: A Brief History of Marathon Swimming... www.amazon.com/.../002-8424915-9250424 Don't believe anything in that book about me. Conrad Wennerberg a very good friend of mine, I was just reading about Abou Heif is a garbage can, and my name happens to be in that chapter. It is a good read. The only thing I can tell you is he asked me to stick out my stomach for my picture and Dennis Matuck was actually a handsome policeman and he sure looks nutty in that picture. George Park

That's a great picture!

Originally posted by F'ueco That's a great picture! It was actually quite funny. I had the ability pop out my stomach and that is what I did and Dennis made a really strange looking face. I was surprised when Conrad put it in his book. The story I told everyone (he called me a con artist) was in a restaurant called "La Pignon Rouge". That restaurant was one of my sponsors I ate there free for three years, and a few bucks for the pocket.

If you want to see that picture look here swimdownhill.com/.../page11.html I just added it to my web site.