Why We Swim, Bonnie Tsui
Why We Swim, Bonnie Tsui
5 Rating(s)
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Why We Swim

Author: Bonnie Tsui

Narrator: Angie Kane

Unabridged: 6 hr 35 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/14/2020


Synopsis

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 twenty-first 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; its therapeutic for both the mind and body; and its an adventurous way to get from point A to point B. Its 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 Husseins 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 waterdespite its dangersthat seduces us, tempting us to come back to it again and again.

About Bonnie Tsui

Bonnie Tsui is a longtime contributor to The New York Times and California Sunday Magazine, as well as the recipient of the Jane Rainie Opel Young Alumna Award from Harvard University, the Lowell Thomas Gold Award, and a National Press Foundation Fellowship. Her book American Chinatown won the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature and was a San Francisco Chronicle bestseller. She lives, swims, and surfs in the Bay Area.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Ugvaja

In Why We Swim (Audiobook), Bonnie Tsui explores the relationship that human beings have with water. She dives into the subject more than superficially (pun intended), by investigating the theme of swimming that is not just a sport, but also a transformative experience that is shared among human......more

Goodreads review by Anna

The book started off well. There were several real-life stories that were interesting to me and I enjoyed learning about the achievements of several people I hadn't heard of before. I wish topics like the science of how swimming impacts our mind and our body were discussed more than the personal lif......more

An exploration of a swimmer's relationship with water. The zone. The psychological effects. The health benefits. Water as a rehabilitation medium bordering on miraculous. Water as a source of inspiration, profound insight and unity with the world. That's quite a lot of discourse to shoulder but Bonn......more