In The Girl Who Swam to Euskadi, Mark Kurlansky exhibits his great affection for two rocky coastlines facing each other, Massachusetts on one side of the Atlantic and Euskadi (Basqueland) on the other. In his book The Basque History of the World, Kurlansky wrote, "The Basques seem to be a mythical people, almost an imagined people." In this children's tale, a small girl who, while practicing her swimming in Gloucester, Massachusetts, accidentally swims to Euskadi and finds a strange land of strange customs and remarkable beauty. Returning home, no one will believe her that such a place exists.
The Girl Who Swam to Euskadi is a bilingual book in English and Euskera, the ancient Basque language, which is the oldest living European language.
All proceeds from the sale of this book are donated to the New York Basque Cultural Center.
