{"product_id":"strokes-of-genius-eric-chaline-9781780238197","title":"Strokes of Genius: A History of Swimming","description":"What could be better than diving into cool water on a hot day? In this enormously enjoyable and informative history of swimming, Eric Chaline sums up this most summery of moments with one phrase: pleasure beckons at the water's edge. \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eStrokes of Genius\u003c\/i\u003e traces the history of swimming from the first civilizations to its current worldwide popularity as a sport, fitness pastime, and leisure activity. Chaline explores swimming's role in ritual, early trade and manufacturing, warfare, and medicine, before describing its transformation in the early modern period into a leisure activity and a competitive sport--the necessary precursors that have made it the most common physical pastime in the developed world. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The book celebrates the physicality and sensuality of swimming--attributes that Chaline argues could have contributed to the evolution of the human species. Swimming, like other disciplines that use repetitive movements to train the body and quiet the mind, is also a means of spiritual awakening--a personal journey of discovery. Swimming has attained the status of a cultural marker, denoting eroticism, leisure, endurance, adventure, exploration, and excellence. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eStrokes of Genius\u003c\/i\u003e shows that there is not a single story of human swimming, but many currents that merge, diverge, and remerge. Chaline argues that swimming will become particularly important as we look toward a warmer future in which our survival may depend on our ability to adapt to life in an aquatic world.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Eric Chaline\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1780238193\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781780238197\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Reaktion Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/15\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 256\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.85lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.60w x 1.10d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/01\/2018","brand":"Eric Chaline","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43984272097535,"sku":"9781780238197","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_9f87725f-949d-41ef-9e41-357fc180a3dd.jpg?v=1683271438","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/strokes-of-genius-eric-chaline-9781780238197","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}