Vendor
	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Maren Wiederhold
Categories
Sports & Active outdoor recreation

WHY WE SWIM

Bonnie Tsui

Take a dive into the deep and discover what it is about water that seduces us, heals us and brings us together.

Join writer and swimmer Bonnie Tsui as she explores the unique skill of swimming from the five angles of survival, wellbeing, community, competition and flow. Propelled by stories of polar swim champions, a Baghdad swim club, Olympian athletes and modern-day samurai swimmers, Why We Swim takes us around the globe in a remarkable, all-encompassing account of the world of swimming. This is a joyous meditation on our innate connection to water and a true celebration of the wonders of swimming.

Available products
Book Published 2021-08-05 by Algonquin

Comments

A cultural history of humankind's relationship to bodies of water, an exploration of the benefits and dangers of submerging one's own body in it, a highlight reel of athletic feats of swimming and diving and so much more. Author Bonnie Tsui creates space for readers to meditate on their own experiences in the water. As I read it I found an escape, but also a connection to the water and to fellow humans who are called to it.

Tsui's history of the human relationship with water is compelling and profound, in writing so fluid it mimics the flow of her subject . . . It captivated me from start to finish.

A jewel of a book, a paean to the wonders of water and our place within it

This fascinating look at the positive impact swimming has had on our lives throughout history might leave most readers eager to get back in the water as soon as possible.

A beautifully written love letter to water and a fascinating story. I was enchanted.

[An] enthusiastic and thoughtful work mixing history, journalism and elements of memoir . . . Tsui sets out to answer her title's question with a compassionate understanding of how that mind game stops some and a curiosity about how and why it seduces others . . . Tsui endears herself to the reader as well. Her universal query is also one of self, and her articulations of what she learns are moving.

A thoughtful inquiry into human nature.

Why We Swim is a celebration of the many varieties of joy that swimming brings to our oxygen-breathing species.

A Time Magazine Must-Read Book of 2020 A Best Book of the Season: BuzzFeed * Bustle * San Francisco Chronicle A Best Book of the Year: NPR's Book Concierge * Washington Independent Review of Books Featured in San Francisco Chronicle's 10 books by Bay Area authors that should be on your holiday list" A Goodreads Science Technology Award Finalist

Tsui opens her eclectic, well-crafted survey with a fascinating story about an Icelandic fisherman who swam six kilometers in 41 degree water after his boat capsized . . . Readers will enjoy getting to know the people and the facts presented in this fascinating book.

Magnificent. I love this book

Drawing on personal experience, history, biology, and social science, the author conveys the appeal of 'an unflinching giving-over to an element' and makes a convincing case for broader access to swimming education (372,000 people still drown annually). An absorbing, wide-ranging story of humans' relationship with the water.

Why We Swim is a gorgeous hybrid of a book. Bonnie Tsui combines fascinating reporting about some of the world's most remarkable swimmers with delightful meditations about what it means for us naked apes to leap in the water for no apparent reason. You won't regret diving in.

Bonnie Tsui captures the joy, peril and utility of swimming, within her family and across civilizations . . . The breadth of her reporting and grace of her writing make the elements of Why We Swim move harmoniously as one.

The only thing better than reading Bonnie Tsui's writing about swimming is swimming itselfand both are sublime. Why We Swim is an aquatic tour de force, a captivating story filled with adventure, meditation, and celebration.

Bonnie Tsui's Why We Swim is a love letter to swimming . . . In the tradition of memoir writers like Rebecca Solnit, Tsui examines the history of swimming as a sport, a survival skill, and even a martial art . . . Her hybrid memoir and history book traces swimming's roots around the globe while also looking at how a swim can be a meditative, transformative, and deeply personal activity.

Tsui is a poetic writer whose flowing, immersive prose and colorful storytelling will hold significant appeal for readersespecially swimmersof all curiosities.

Czech: Bohemica Books, German: HarperCollins, Italian: 66th and 2nd, Korian: Gimm-Young, Polish: JK Wydawnictwo, Romanian: Pilot Books, Russian: Alpina Publisher, Slovak: Grada, World Spanish: Planeta, Thai: Bookscape, UK Commonwealth: PRH Ebury Rider

Former competitive swimmer and current do-it-all writer Bonnie Tsui's Why We Swim . . . explores our relationship with a sport that quite literally represents quiet and flow (something we could use more of, no?) by offering a look at a grab bag of eclectic examples, like swimming samurais and an Icelandic shipwreck survivor.