Customer Reviews

Wind, Waves, and Sunburn: A Brief History of Marathon Swimming

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At first I wasn't sure whether i'd like this book despite being a competetive swimmer myself. The title sounded pretenscious and overblown. However... reading this bookk gave me an incredible insight into the world of marathon swimming. It is a mix of scientific knowhow (ideal for anyone planning a triathlon style swim) and amazing anecdotes from the author who manages to combine incredible feats with his own cool and stylish panache. In fact it's what one would expect if Kerouac had gone into sports writing instead of travel writing. All in all, i can thoroughly recommend this book to anyone, even non-swimmers, for it's easy mix of anecdotes and stylish sports writing.

I have read this book three times and have enjoyed it immensely. I am an avid swimmer and enjoy Conrad's thorough history of open water swimming. He gives his own personal insight on the sport, which is a nice touch. I would recommend this book to anyone whether a swimmer or not, but whoever has an adventuresome heart!

This book is very well written although a little outdated (references to women, training methods,stroke technique,the virtue of fat). I thought I knew a few things about the history of swimming but this book took me into a new dimension. Out of the pool and into the wilds. I never heard of most of the open water swimmers mentioned by the author. Most of the races as well. The author ends his book around 1970 so I am now naturally wondering:
a. What has happened to the heroes of the story after that year?
b. How has the sport developed?
c. Is the author still alive?

The original copy of this book was released in the early 70s, and politically-correct readers probably won't warm to his outdated language (esp. in referring to female swimmers). But if you can forgive the author by remembering when it was written, Wennerberg excels at describing in detail what these swimmers went through to accomplish feats like the English Channel, Lake Michigan, etc. He makes you feel as if you're swimming right along with these pioneers of long-distance swimming in the 1950s and 60s as they stroke across some famous bodies of water, all before the advent of modern wetsuits and goggles!

Obviously, Wennerberg does not mention any swims after the early 1970s (except in the afterwards of the 1997 edition), but being a rather young open-water swimmer, I really enjoyed reading about the brave men & women who paved the way for those of us who enjoy open-water swimming today.