The Watermen: The Birth of American Swimming and One Young Man's Fight to Capture Olympic Gold

Name: The Watermen: The Birth of American Swimming and One Young Man's Fight to Capture Olympic Gold
SKU: 58384
Availability: InStock

4.6 | 137 ratings

Price: 15.75

Last update: 06-23-2024

Top reviews from the United States

FitzGR

Compelling story of untold American History

Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2022

Purchased this book with the idea I would add it to my TBR pile of audiobooks. I made the mistake of checking the audio by listening to the opening paragraph... over an hour later I was still listening, completely drawn in by the story and outstanding writing of this author. This is narrative nonfiction at its finest! The characters are so richly drawn and the story holds you from the opening paragraph. The writing reminds me of Michael Lewis and Sebastian Junger.

The relationship of Charles and his abusive father is compelling and relatable, as are all the characters throughout. There was never a moment where I wanted to stop listening to this book.

The audio narrator does an excellent job here, not overdoing it like so many, and not reading it like a robot. He hits the sweet spot and makes the listen flawless.

The underdog TRUE story of Charles Daniels is flat out enthralling, and I say this as someone who hasn't ever been too interested in competitive swimming. These are the types of stories our country needs right now - stories of people overcoming tremendous odds, both personal and professional. This story is as inspiring as it is entertaining.

I highly recommend this book but be warned -- once you start it will be tough to stop.

John Jennings

Fantastic Page-Turner About an Unknown U.S. Swimming Hero

Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2022

I had never heard of Charles Daniels. And I had never really contemplated the beginnings of competitive swimming. I naively assumed that humans had always been swimmers and competing against each other. I was wrong. For most of human history, most people couldn't swim, and swimming only gained acceptance as a competitive sport in the early 20th Century.

The Watermen is the fascinating story of Charles Daniels -- a competitive swimming pioneer and the first U.S. swimming champion. It's also the story of the rise of competitive swimming, the invention of the "crawl" (what is now thought of as "freestyle") and the birth of the modern Olympics.

It's a highly engaging read -- I devoured it in two days. When I read "Boys in the Boat" I bought a rowing machine and have enjoyed rowing as part of my regular workouts. After reading "The Watermen" I feel inspired to take up swimming again. Also - I was reminded of Boys in the Boat as I read the Watermen -- both are feel-good stories of unlikely champions (and I think The Watermen is as good as Boys in the Boat which is high praise as it is one of my favorite books I've read in the past five years).

Great book. I highly recommend it!

Kent Price

Story of the development of the freestyle swimming stroke

Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2022

This book is a remarkable history of the development of the freestyle swimming stroke in the 1890's through the 1908 Olympic Games. It follows the American swimmer Charley Daniels who starts out swimming breast stoke, then side stroke with a scissors kick, and then evolves to the more familiar alternating arm with 6-beat kick of today. He sets many American records over the years 1900 - 1910 and wins the 100-m freestyle at the London Olympics in 1908. The freestyle stroke evolves by continuous racing over the years, and competition among clubs and countries.

I particularly enjoyed descriptions of the early swimming pools at different Athletic Clubs around the country. They were indoor tanks filled with dark green water, no lines on the bottom or lane lines on the surface. Lengths ranged from 50-ft to more than 300-ft. The swimmer had to touch the end of the pool with his hand. Outdoor races were held on any convenient river or lake, with starts and finishes from floating docks.

The book could have been a bit shorter with less details about Charley's deadbeat father who left when he was 10-years old. There were many references to early swimmers and coaches, male and female. All in all, the book brought back many memories of my early days swimming.

bluejacket17

The Perfect Antidote

Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2022

Michael Loynd’s Watermen reminded me how much fun reading a book can be.

Like so many, I’ve been sucked into the whirlwind of tweets and short article formats that can be read on an iphone screen—lost in a firehose of news that alarm and depress. Loynd’s story of Charley Daniels and his rise against the indomitable British swimmers at the turn of the century was a perfect antidote. Yes, I’m a life-long swimmer and I’m in the water several times a week, but the story of Daniels is so much more than just a story about swimming.

While many will view it as just a feel good story, it’s also a story of hope. The narrative that Loynd has created from years of research reflects not only some of the challenges of life in the U.S. over one hundred years ago, but also a promise of what the U.S. can still be as long as we find people with the same humility and courage that Daniel’s embodied throughout his life.

As a writer, Loynd’s is efficient and direct. He’s not concerned with turning a phrase but with simply telling a story that has been for too long left untold. And it’s a story that I know will stay with me in the weeks, months, and years to come.

Wally Greene

It's a sprint to the conclusion...

Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2023

Those who love swimming will enjoy The Watermen as it is not only a terrific success story of overcoming odds to achieve Olympic success, but a lens into the late 1800's, early 1900's society in NYC. It details what it took to become an Olympic athlete while navigating social acceptance and building a personal network. It's well written, researched, and hard to put down. For me, this had a personal connection as my grandfather was a distance swimmer who participated in the London Olympic games but didn't qualify during the preliminary heats. I highly recommend!

Jenni Walz

As great as Boys in the Boat!

Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2022

I read Boys in the Boat years ago without knowing anything about rowing and this story was just as great. I had no idea there was such an entertaining history about the birth of swimming in the United States. Charles Daniels was amazing. I can't believe we've never head his name. Such a wonderful story about what he and his mother had to go through after being expelled from society. A great story of resilience, grit, and hope. We can all use more of that these days. I plan to tell all my friends about it.

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