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musicdeepdive's review
4.0
A combination of a beautiful testimonial and a very compelling kaleidoscope of others' anecdotes about water, swimming and the mystical traits and benefits that these things provide us with.
pattydsf's review
4.0
“Buoyancy, floating, weightlessness. Freedom. These are the words we use to talk about swimming. Is it a coincidence that this is also the language we use to talk about the lightness of being, the wellness of being, that we strive for in this corporeal world?”
Thanks to a terrible teacher in elementary school and lack of inclination ever since, I am a terrible swimmer. This book made me wish I liked it more.
Thanks to a terrible teacher in elementary school and lack of inclination ever since, I am a terrible swimmer. This book made me wish I liked it more.
helen_ay's review
3.0
The content was riveting but the writing not so much. The author kept repeating and explaining herself and it made the going tough.
shanipatel's review
4.0
i desperately wanted to give this a 10/10!! it’s a gorgeously written love story about swimming that mostly resonated with me on the deepest level as i read this nearby to bodies of water i had recently existed in england, italy, greece and home. but the chapter on competition rly lost me and i struggled to get through it so i had to bump it down ~ 8/10
kittymamers's review against another edition
5.0
täitsa umbropsu, pealkirja põhjal valitud raamat, aga mind väga kõnetas.
see on selline... lüürilise kallakuga populaarteadus, autor räägib üsna palju iseenda ja oma pere ja hõimlaste ujumiskogemustest. mind see ei sega, annab raamatule kena struktuuri. ja ujumine ongi üsna emotsionaalne teema mu meelest, loodus- ja tundekirjeldused on asjakohased.
samas sain siit teada palju huvitavat ja asjalikku nii ujumise rollist üldse inimkonna ajaloos kui eri kultuurides, tänapäevani välja (lähemalt räägiti Islandil ja Jaapanis toimuvast ja mind just nende kantide eripärad alati võluvad väga). räägiti konkreetsetest ujujatest, nii olümpiasportlastest kui hobi-pikamaa-ujujatest, kes valivad ületamiseks põnevamaid looduslikke veekogusid. räägiti ujumise ja vee ja eriti jahedamapoolse vee mõjust inimorganismile, nii kehale kui vaimule. (pruun rasv! kes teadis, et pruun rasv on olemas ja mis see teeb?) natuke räägiti kaladest ka. mu jaoks jäi kõlama ühe jaapani ujumistreeneri mõte, et te arvate, et ujumine käib käte ja jalgadega, aga see on puha vale, vaadake kalu.
nagu ikka hea teadusraamat, saatis seegi mind Youtube'i ja Wikipediasse edasistele uuringutele. pruuni rasva (brown adipose tissue) juba mainisin, aga jaapani samuraistiilis ujumine (nihon eiho) on ka täiesti lähemat tutvumist väärt.
ja loomulikult tekitas see kõik ka suure ujumisisu, kuni selleni välja, et täitsa tahaks kuhugi trenni tehnikat lihvima minna, mitte ainult niisama juukseid märjaks teha.
see on selline... lüürilise kallakuga populaarteadus, autor räägib üsna palju iseenda ja oma pere ja hõimlaste ujumiskogemustest. mind see ei sega, annab raamatule kena struktuuri. ja ujumine ongi üsna emotsionaalne teema mu meelest, loodus- ja tundekirjeldused on asjakohased.
samas sain siit teada palju huvitavat ja asjalikku nii ujumise rollist üldse inimkonna ajaloos kui eri kultuurides, tänapäevani välja (lähemalt räägiti Islandil ja Jaapanis toimuvast ja mind just nende kantide eripärad alati võluvad väga). räägiti konkreetsetest ujujatest, nii olümpiasportlastest kui hobi-pikamaa-ujujatest, kes valivad ületamiseks põnevamaid looduslikke veekogusid. räägiti ujumise ja vee ja eriti jahedamapoolse vee mõjust inimorganismile, nii kehale kui vaimule. (pruun rasv! kes teadis, et pruun rasv on olemas ja mis see teeb?) natuke räägiti kaladest ka. mu jaoks jäi kõlama ühe jaapani ujumistreeneri mõte, et te arvate, et ujumine käib käte ja jalgadega, aga see on puha vale, vaadake kalu.
nagu ikka hea teadusraamat, saatis seegi mind Youtube'i ja Wikipediasse edasistele uuringutele. pruuni rasva (brown adipose tissue) juba mainisin, aga jaapani samuraistiilis ujumine (nihon eiho) on ka täiesti lähemat tutvumist väärt.
ja loomulikult tekitas see kõik ka suure ujumisisu, kuni selleni välja, et täitsa tahaks kuhugi trenni tehnikat lihvima minna, mitte ainult niisama juukseid märjaks teha.
curioso98's review
3.0
This seemed like a transformational book about swimming but it didn't change my mindset too much about swimming. The author goes through the history of swimming from pre-historic times to 2020 and talks about the evolution and usage of human swimming over time. There are several stories of human triumph (using swimming) that weaved in narration and those were great (a woman who has an accident on her leg overcomes the injury and learns to OWS and does the ocean 7 and the mountain 7!). Overall, it's a nice read.
manaledi's review
2.0
This book got a fair amount of attention but I'm not really sure why it exists other than as a pet project of the author. Admittedly, as a (former?) Competitive swimmer, it was particularly hard for me because she has such a straightforward, positive relationship with swimming and mine is complicated and conflicted and that experience and identity was erased. Also, though, the premise that we have to explain why we swim felt weird to me. Why do we need to have a why? Why not all the reasons people don't swim? This book felt blind to a lot of the racial (a brief mention of segregated pools) and class lines that limit who swims and why. I did find some of the cultural anecdotes quite interesting though.
janaaier's review
3.0
I think Why We Swim will hit the mark for a large group of readers. It is very lyrical and positive about swimming, which is charming at first, and for many, that will be enough. As for me, I did not enjoy the compromises on historical details and clarity to present an inspirational and unified picture. It felt like every time there was an interesting starting point from history or a community, the complexity and story is flattened so a pleasant and encouraging message can be told. Swimming is beneficial in different ways but it is also very complicated and I don't know if the book took on more than it could chew when it comes to those complexities.