Haunts of the Black Masseur: The Swimmer as Hero

A narcissistic, obsessive, disconnected meditation by an author who seems to have collected random tidbits related to water, and/or swimming in his literary and geographic travels/imagination. It contains strong 'undertones' of pedophilia, the 'beauty' of suicide, the pains (and delights) of being gay, and long paragraphs with many non-sequiturs. It is loaded with casual name dropping of persons who are not described as to profession, age, any aspect of their life, or how they fit the narrative, other than in the author's mind. He has a 'unique' definition of swimming, which is then constantly modified by his many, briefly discussed, literary or athletic figures. Many discussions of languid times/fantasies spent admiring and wishing to touch the bodies of the very young, although always safely observed from a distance. I read a book a week, am very literary, and always finish, no matter how painful. This one required an exhausting, 20 pages a day schedule, to survive it. Worst book I've bought in years.

Like his lyricism

If you swim, read this.

Although this book is well-written and packed with information it didn't satisfy my interests enough. The references from literary history were insightful but didn't fascinate as much as historical anecdotes did. I had hoped for more of an in-depth exploration of swimming from the perspective of archeology, anthropology, sociology, economics and art history.

Superb, faintly seedy, fascinating book by swimmer and classicist Sprawson on the history of swimming in literature. Having read it years ago when it came out,Opened it up to read in Ballynahinch Castle, and discovered that the swimming pool of Sprawson's boarding school in India was donated by the Edwardian cricketer Ranjitsinhji (otherwise known as the Jam Saheb of Nawanagar), whose portrait hangs in Ballynahinch - he was a former owner of the castle, which is a beloved hotel on the best trout-fishing stream in Ireland. It's typical of the spooky synchronicity evinced in the book, with its awe-inspiring descriptions of the kamikaze, or divine wind, that sent a cloud of butterflies floating over the Japanese winners in the Berlin Olympics; of the Roman pool with a marble lip lapping on to the open sea, with swimming guests fed by delicacies floating in golden boats or swans...

Densely written, but fascinating. The only book I've read that delves into the heart and mind of an open water swimmer, both on a psychological and historical perspective. I was particularly intrigued by the tales of Byron, Poe, et al. Every swimmer should read!

Excellent book. I've been swimming about 59 years. I learned to swim when I was 5. I still swim 2-3 times a week for fitness. About 1 mile each session. I wanted to know more about the philosophy, tradition and heritage of swimming and was surprised there was a book that took those issues on. This is not a how-to book nor is it about fitness or health. Its about why people have been swimming beyond just "crossing the road". Its deep and detailed and sometimes tedious but it felt good when I finished......just like a good swim!

This is an awesome book. Well worth reading.

A sparking cultural history of one of mankind’s favourite activities. Dive in.

a wonderful book

Fascinating history of swimming, largely from a British perspective, with an autobiographical thread throughout.

A classic.

I bought this book in paperback form many years ago, in fact I think it was my first book on swimming. Though I haven't yet re-read my kindle version my memory of it is one of delight. The author recounts places he has visited for swimming and gives his experience and thoughts as well as drawing on any history, mythology, prose or poetry around that place or local area. A beautiful read. If I ever lost all my books, this would be one of the first to be replaced on my shelves.