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Strokes of Genius
A History of Swimming
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Format: Hardback
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Strokes of Genius
$4799
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
This book is ideal for readers interested in sports history, cultural studies, and the broader human connection to water. It appeals to both swimming enthusiasts and those curious about the social, historical, and spiritual dimensions of this aquatic pursuit.
'Pleasure beckons at the water's edge.'
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Description
Pleasure beckons at the water's edge.
With these words, Eric Chaline celebrates the physicality and sensuality of swimming—attributes that might have contributed to the evolution of the human species. Chaline's comprehensive account surveys swimming from prehistory to the present day. He decodes the earliest human myths to reconstruct swimming's prehistory and history; he explains its role in religious rituals, trade and manufacture, warfare and medicine, and chronicles its transformation into the leisure activity and competitive sport that together have made it the most commonly practised physical pastime in the developed world.
Swimming is now a cultural marker that stands for eroticism, leisure, endurance, adventure, exploration, and excellence. Latterly, like other disciplines that use repetitive movements to discipline the body and still the mind, it is held by wild swimmers to be a lane to spiritual awakening—one stroke at a time. There is no single story of human swimming, but many currents that merge, diverge, and remerge towards a future in which our survival may depend on our ability to adapt to life in an aquatic world.
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Praised for its accessible and witty prose, Strokes of Genius is described as more than just a history of swimming—it is a richly detailed account of humanity's complex relationship with water. Jeff Wiltse commends the book’s arresting anecdotes and thought-provoking insights, while Choice recommends it for its engaging examination of swimming through cultural, psychological, and philosophical perspectives.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781780238197
Publisher: Reaktion Books
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 01 July 2017
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Reaktion Books
Illustration: 75 illustrations
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Width: 138.0mm
Height: 216.0mm
Weight: 250g
Pages: 336
About the Author
Eric Chaline has combined journalism, academic work and writing with sport and exercise, both as a practitioner and coach. He is the author of Simple Path to Yoga (2001) and Fifty Minerals that Changed the Course of History (2012). His first book for Reaktion was The Temple of Perfection: A History of the Gym (2015). He lives in London.
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