10 Books about Swimming
Swimming is reputed to be Britain's most popular participation sport. Here's our pick from some of the books on our shelves that celebrate life in the water, suitable for champion swimmers, armchair enthusiasts, and everyone else in between.
£25.00
The Story of Swimming
From Ancient Greece to the present day, Susie Parr explores both the history of swimming, and her own passion for it. ‘The glorious illustrations s... See details
£16.99
A Taste of Chlorine
Bastien Vivès’s tender love story takes place almost entirely in the water, an enormous municipal swimming pool evoked in an aquamarine-soaked pale... See details
£7.99
Swimming
Pip Ash, a 6’2” Catholic schoolgirl, swims her way from land-locked Kansas to victory at the Seoul Olympics. Nicola Keegan’s first novel explores t... See details
£8.99
The Great Swim: The Epic Tale of the Race to Conquer the Channel
In 1926 Gertrude Ederle, a 20-year-old New Yorker, became the sixth person, and the first woman, to swim the English Channel. But three other Ameri... See details
£14.95
Wild Swimming: 150 Hidden Dips in the Rivers, Lakes and Waterfalls of Britain
Daniel Start became a devotee of outdoor swimming after being taken hostage by riverine tribesmen in the rainforest of New Guinea. His guide to 150... See details
£8.99
At Swim, Two Boys
From David Halperin’s review, LRB 22 May 2003: At Swim, Two Boys is arguably the most important work of gay male historical fict... See details
£9.99
Waterlog: A Swimmer’s Journey Through Britain
From Heathcote Williams’s review, LRB 19 August 1999: Roger Deakin has swum through England. Instead of a travelogue, he has written a wa... See details
£13.50
The Stories of John Cheever
John Cheever’s ‘The Swimmer’ was originally planned as a novel but was subsequently pared down to become Cheever’s best known and most frequently a... See details
£9.99
Haunts of the Black Masseur: Swimmer as Hero
From John Bayley's review, 23 July 1992: Charles Sprawson is inspired … scarcely able to contain his delight as he reels off records and ... See details
£19.99
Great Lengths: The Swimming Pools of Britain
Great Lengths explores the social and architectural history of Britain’s indoor public swimming pools, from their origins in the subscript... See details