Beneath the Surface: My Story

by Michael Phelps, Brian Cazeneuve, Bob Costas (Foreword)

Eight medals, including six gold and two bronze. Michael Phelps used the Olympic Games in Athens as his breakout event. Already known in the swimming world for the summer of 2003 when he set seven world records in 41 days, Michael's record-tying medal haul made him a mainstream name. He's well on his way to his ambitious goal of "changing the sport of swimming," but despite Michael's pre-eminence in the pool, his story is not a swimming diary but a take of adversities overcome and redemption through persistence.

Genres: Sports, Biography, Nonfiction, Autobiography, Memoir, Biography Memoir

312 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Michael Fred Phelps II is an American former competitive swimmer and the most decorated Olympian of all time, with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold medals (23),Olympic gold medals in individual events (13), and Olympic medals in individual events (16). In winning eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games, Phelps broke fellow American swimmer Mark Spitz's 1972 record of seven first-place finishes at any single Olympic Games. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Phelps won four gold and two silver medals, and at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, he won five gold medals and one silver. This made him the most successful athlete of the Games for the fourth Olympics in a row.

Phelps is the long course world record holder in the 100 meter butterfly, 200 meter butterfly, and 400 meter individual medley as well as the former long course world record holder in the 200 meter freestyle and 200 meter individual medley. He has won 83 medals in major international long course competition, of which 66 were gold, 14 silver, and 3 bronze, spanning the Olympics, the World, and the Pan Pacific Championships. Phelps's international titles and record-breaking performances have earned him the World Swimmer of the Year Award eight times and American Swimmer of the Year Award eleven times, a 2016 SwimSwam Swammy Award for Male Swimmer of the Year as well as the FINA Swimmer of the Year Award in 2012 and 2016. His unprecedented Olympic success in 2008 earned Phelps Sports Illustrated magazine's Sportsman of the Year award.

After the 2008 Summer Olympics, Phelps started the Michael Phelps Foundation, which focuses on growing the sport of swimming and promoting healthier lifestyles. Phelps retired following the 2012 Olympics, but in April 2014 he made a comeback. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, his fifth Olympics, he won five golds and one silver. Phelps was chosen to be a captain of the 2016 US Olympic team, and was also voted by his team to be the flag bearer of the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations.

Reviews

[Alex Cooley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beneath the Surface by Michael Phelps is overall one of my favorite books I've ever read. The book is mostly about his Olympic career and how he trains to become the most decorated Olympian in history. The book starts from his first Olympic games in Athens up until right before the Beijing Olympic games. The reason why I enjoyed this book so much was because i could relate to everything he was talking about do to the fact that i am a swimmer as well. "I woke up the next morning at 7 a.m. and I had never been so pumped for anything in my life." Phelps, Michael, and Brian Cazeneuve. Michael Phelps: Beneath the Surface. Champaign, IL: Sports, 2008. Print. I can relate to this quote because for my most important meets i always wake up excited for them.

The theme of the book is overcoming certain obstacles that stand in your way of greatness. Michael told the reader a lot about his work out regimen and also his emotional side during his training for Olympics and world championships. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking to get to know the other side of Michael Phelps. Also, it is a great sports book so i would tell anyone looking for a good sports read to check this book out.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ironic... this book is called Beneath the Surface, but it just seems to scratch the surface of his career. The book goes something like this: I swam x meters today to train for big race y. I had an argument with my coach. Drove to McDonalds to eat. They know my order and have it ready when I drive up. I raced, won again, and bought my mom a car with the sponsorship money. I swam x meters today...
Maybe he is just too young to have many deep insights. Perhaps he has spent so much time in the pool that he really could not gain any perspective about what he is doing. Maybe my expectations are too high-- maybe I want all sports memoirs to be like Lance Armstrong's It's Not About the Bike. That's it, blame me & my high expectations. But if you want to learn more about this kid's phenomenal success, you're not going to gain much reading this book.

[Cathy Fuggle · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the most tedious and poorly written books I have ever read in my life !

This book was selected by one of our bookclub members so I felt I had to read it to the end, but it was a real chore as it was phenomenally dull and so badly written; with confusion of tenses and no paragraphing which meant you moved from one random story to the next with little or no connection.

I thought this book might offer some insight into what is involved in becoming an Olympian athlete and what made Michael Phelps such a successful sportsman, but the title of the book is very misleading and actually there is nothing “ beneath the surface” .

This book is filled with the boring and pointless anecdotes from Michael that literally have no purpose or moral attached to them. For example “ I really wanted a dog. My mom pointed out it was too much responsibility. My mom emailed me a photo of a dog” ....AND.?.
“ I once went to the pool and realised I have forgotten my hat and goggles” AND???
“ My trainer and I were disagreeing about things so he drove me to his ranch and we talked and then ate a Macdonalds “. AND?

The disappointing thing was that his phenomenal achievements were often entirely missed as Michael only casually mentioned them in between another tedious anecdote about his day.

I learned NOTHING about swimming and what makes Michael tick. I leaned nothing of the emotions involved in winning and losing races, the physical hard work , the sacrifices he and his family must have made and what made him so successful at his sport.

This was definitely one of the worst book I have ever had to suffer through .

[Kristen Melton · Rating 4 out of 5]

More like 3.5

[Martí Sala Perramon · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great biography, for the moment is the best I have read this year.
I am interest in sports but I don’t like specifically swimming. But it doesn’t talk a lot about swimming it talks more about important things in life like fighting for what you want to accomplish your dreams.
The main character that is Phelps is really brave and works hard it also mention how important is to be surrond by nice people.
Fully recommend to all the people who enjoy reading biographies.

[Loves2Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this book. I stumbled upon it by chance as I was browsing for inspiring books to read. Though I am not much of a fan of the Olympics, nor Michael Phelps, I decided to read the book to get to know more about him and see what he had to say.

It was truly inspiring for me to read about his struggles and challenges, and how he dealt with his triumphs and defeat. It is a book I would recommend not just for those wanting to go into sports, but for those who are looking for inspiration and motivation in whatever field they are in. The experiences and anecdotes may have almost solely focused on swimming, but the lessons he learned and imparted in the book are things which applies to everyday life as well.

[Emma Devine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love reading about high level athletes because it resonates with being a performing artist. Can’t wait to retire from my sport!
I love swimming now

[Jackson Nail · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that this was a very inspiring and motivating book. Michael took us through all of the ups and downs of his swimming career and what sacrifices he had to make to get where he is today. I thought that it was interesting learning about how all of the swimming events work and how different each event is from one another. I would recommend this book for anyone that needs inspiration in their life. Michael talks about his strategies for being one of the greatest athletes of all time that will help any athlete excel at their sport. Even if you are not an athlete, this book is able to inspire people to improve their life to live it to the fullest potential.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always have-always will-adore him🫶

[$nickv34$ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nick Veronis 12/19/14
ELA DiDonato Red
Michael Phelps: Beneath the Surface
Michael Phelps: Beneath the Surface, a non-fiction autobiography, truly does go beneath the surface. It is the story of Michael Phelps, one of the greatest and perhaps the greatest olympic swimmer of all time. It shows his struggle from day 1 - overcoming his ADHD. In the parts of the autobiography where Phelps talks about his childhood, he strongly emphasizes how bad his hyperactivity was. His only very close bond was with his mom, Deborah, who was divorced with his father. The Phelps family also did not have a lot of money, not at all enough to pay for 3 kids.
These problems caused for much adversity in Phelps’ young childhood. He began turning all of this energy he had into negative energy - violence, not paying any attention in class, etc. What seemed to solve this was his discovery of swimming. Michael’s sisters, Whitney and Hillary, both influenced his decision to start swimming. At first, he was too scared to even dip his foot in the water. He got over his fear, however, and turned out to be a natural. Through swimming, Michael was able to tame all of his energy and was able to get away from the problems involved with finance his parents divorce. Towards the end, Phelps was really being put under pressure. Everybody watched him, and with incredibly high expectations. And in the Olympics, where people watch it worldwide, that is a a lot of high expectations.
Michael Phelps was not one to succumb to the pressure; in his career he has 39 world records and stands the most decorated olympian of all time. Perhaps the most important event in his life occurred at the 2004 summer olympics in Athens, Greece. In his book, he often refers back to this race and he starts and finishes the book with a description of it. He was being watched by a lot of people because these were his first olympics , and people really saw raw talent in him. He broke 3 world records and ended those games with 6 gold medals and 2 bronze. This performance would later be called the second-greatest olympic performance ever - and he was still a teenager.
I really enjoyed this book because simply of the story and the way it was written. I found enjoyment in the parts where he talked about his childhood and what he was like because this was something I could relate to. Although I could not relate at all to the rest of the book, I enjoyed reading about the swimming and it was pretty exciting. I also learned about a new sport that I wasn’t very familiar with. I also liked how it was written - since it was from his perspective, we got the story through his eyes. From a first-hand experience, Phelps showed us what it was like to have uncontainable energy, to set a world records. There really wasn’t much about the book that I disliked, but if I had to choose something it would be that the book would be a little longer. He could’ve explained more about what he has been doing to the present day, or about his charity foundation.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone. Now I say anyone because most people will think that is just for athletes and jocks, but it is not. In fact, I am an athlete, and the interesting parts to me were about his life out of the pool. For example, my favorite part of the book was at the very beginning, when Michael almost dies from a severe viral infection and was losing blood cells. This was so interesting to me because if he did not pull through this virus, Phelps would not be here today, with all of his 39 world records. It makes you realize how important and game-changing he is. Michael Phelps’ story can be fascinating to anyone, and I truly recommend it to anyone looking for a good non-fiction book, or even a book just to read in your leisure.

[Fatima · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beneath the surface, es como un journal o un diario, donde este nadador, nos habla de manera no muy profunda de como fue su vida hasta llegar a ser el gran nadador olimpico. El libro termina antes de lograr romper el record olimpico de Mark Spitz, que fue lograr 8 medallas en Beijing.

Que si nos relata el soporte que tuvo de su madre y hermanas desde sus pininos en la natacion y como ellas sacrificaron parte de su vida junto con el para que esta pudiera lograr sus metas y objetivos. Tambien nos narra la gran ayuda y relacion que el tiene con su coach, que luego de leer esto, es su la piedra angular que lo ayudo hacer lo que es, ya que ademas de coach, fue casi su padre sustituto ya que comenzo con este desde que el tenia 11 anos hasta la fecha. Que parte me gusto mucho? como relata las estrategias y cosas que hicieron para ir mejorando en sus diferentes estilos, principalmente en Butterfly y freestyle, como se fueron proponiendo metas y como las fueron logrando. Ej: Romper records, bajando el tiempo en cada estilo, como cambiar la salida y retorno. Tambien lo senti muy humano, ya que al igual que todos, el tenia su idolo en la natacion que era Ian Thorpe y que este aunque no lo supiera fue su modelo a seguir en este maravilloso deporte.

En fin un libro, facil de leer sin palabras rebuscadas, muy simple. Que te logra entrar un poco en la mente y en el dia a dia de los sacrificios que deben hacer estos grandes atltetas que gracias al gran esfuerzo, dedicacion y perseverancia llegan hacer grandes atletas olimpicos y nunca seran olvidados.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

My 13 year old daughter had to write a book report from an autobiography and this was book that she chose. I picked it up because I have always loved watching both the summer and winter Olympics, especially the stories behind the athletes. The book was a little choppy and had frequent tangents interspersed for no apparent reason. I think he made a point to give "a shout out" to almost everyone he knows because the book was filled with many people he has encountered. I didn't find it too technical with swimmer terminology and it was easy to understand. I appreciated the first-hand account of his experiences, especially because I could remember watching many of the moments on television as they happened. I read an updated version that said it included the London Games, however the story itself ends after Athens. I would have liked to have read more about his desire to become an Olympian. How/why does a person get this drive? Did he ever want to quit? Why or why not? Overall, I thought it was a good book and feel as though Michael Phelps is a down-to-earth, decent human being (although my daughter commented that she thought he tried too hard to sound as though he was "normal").

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was thoroughly prepared to hand out a much lower score on this book - most autobiography's not written by actual writers are a little painful to get through - even if you really enjoy the author - but this one was a delight. A fun walk through Michael's life just endeared him further to me - he's self effacing, competitive and just goofy adorable at times. The effort and training aspects are great, the sports and politics are interesting, and the life style to reach this level of sport, fascinating. But at the end of the day, you had a big, funny teenage boy who liked video games, sports and his mom - and what isn't a 5 star read about that?
Thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it for anyone who is interested in Phelps and his journey - and currently trying to find the next book where we go to the next Olympics with Michael.

[Kristin Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love swimming and Michael Phelps is one person I’d love to meet. I follow him on Facebook and IG. I’d give this book 3.5 stars because I wish they included the 2012 Olympics. I also wished the passion he has for swimming came out more in his book. I like how he talked about his family life, how close he is to his mom, his ADHD, his coach Bob, the Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe, and his vision for swimming to be more popular in the U.S. The swimming lingo didn’t bother me because I understand all the terms. As much as I enjoyed reading about his swimming career, I wanted to hear about the 2012 trials and that awesome IM relay-whenever I need inspiration to not give up, I play that clip to keep going!

[Divyasree P K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being awestruck with the huge headlines made by a swimmer during the Olympics and being unaware of anything related to swimming for a better part of my life, I looked forward to this book authored by one of the most celebrated Olympians. It offered a glimpse into Phelps' childhood,
a tribute to Bob Bowman as well as Debbie Phelps, a galore of swimming insights and practices and a first hand personal account of the key events at the Olympics and the World Championships.

That said, the writing style as well as the coherence of narration were significantly sub par. Hence, a lot many mundane snippets were duly skimmed and the reading experience wasn't memorable.

[Louisa Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really, good!! All you hear on TV is when the athlete performs in front of the world. It’s so great to hear their back story as well!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is about a decade old so it doesn't have his last Olympic triumphs in it but I thoroughly enjoyed reading it about two years ago.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

So inspiring- he is so talented and hard working.

[Sean O’Reilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sadly kind of boring. It ends before the 2008 Beijing Olympics which I think would be more exciting.

[Nikhil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Phelps is all of 36 years now. This autobiography was originally published in 2004 when he was all of 18 years old. They updated it some bit in subsequent editions but the story still pauses right before the 2008 Beijing Olympics. And though Phelps was already in the pantheon of swimming greats with his 2004 Athens performance, it was the Beijing Olympics where he became an all-time swimming great by winning 8 Gold Medals.

"Beneath the Surface" is the story of this teenage Phelps as he put the rest of his life aside to focus single-mindedly on his swimming career. Skipping the chance to have girlfriends or party out with friends, or even pursue a formal college education. Michael takes all he has and puts it in his passion, skipping barely 4-5 days of practice in the four years between the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the 2004 Athens Olympics.

What makes Michael's sporting journey that much more unique is the sport itself. Given the various permutations and combinations possible, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m and then throw in 4 different strokes, not to mention the medleys and the relays, the sport offers Michael the chance to play on a much wider canvas. How else can one win 8 Gold Medals in one Olympics. Ever heard a tennis player or even a track and field specialist compete in 8 different finals in one event? And the book takes us through Michael's thought process as they juggle between these choices alternating between tactical and strategic calls.

The insights that the book offers on the sport of swimming make very interesting reading too. Measuring lactic acid levels, swimming down post a race, shaving off all body hair to reduce as much friction as possible, constant risk of an anti-doping test (including someone standing next to you, watching you piss in the bottle), and so on. It brings out, quite vividly and often enough, the super-human effort needed to get from 99.8% performance to 99.9% performance.

Like all great achievers, Phelps' journey is not a solitary one. And the one thing which stands out about Phelps is how much he seems to appreciate all the people who have contributed to him getting where he is - His Coach Bob Bowman, his team-mates, his idols like Ion Thorpe, and of course his sisters and mother. He comes across as this very simple, people's person who enjoys his success as much for what it means to him but also for what it means to his coach and family.

Where I think the book lacks is that it seems to underplay the tribulations of building a sports career at this highest level and maintaining it. It does talk a bit about the physical toll though it seems to underplay that as well but it totally ignores the mental challenges which an individual must face to perform at this level, consistently. To that extent, it does become a bit of a sanitised account of Phelps' achievements.

Ending is a bit lame too.

[Dilyan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really is ironically shallow, considering the name.

It's still an interesting read because well...Phelps is an extremely interesting person. Reading about his life is always going to be interesting. But too much of "Beneath the Surface" is just factual rundowns of his different races. Not even with insights, just "I did the fly in X:XX, then [Name] finished at Y:YY, then we swam breast, which I swam in...". I'm a swimmer and enjoyed it for a bit but eventually, it all just runs together. We can get his race times from the Internet, that's not why I'm reading this.

With that said, there are some great parts. He talks about his family and other important relationships in his life. I learned quite a bit about the kind of person he is, what drives him, and what his goals are. He opens up about his ADHD, his DUI, and other struggles he has faced.

Overall, I'm glad I read this book. And what it lacks, I attribute to his young age when writing it. There's only so much you can put into an autobiography at that age. I know he has published others, and I'm looking forward to going through those, as well.

[Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall good read. I wish It had gotten more into his mindset and training because I’m a swimmer looking for more advice. I hope he writes another book one day that dives into mental health. This book definitely focuses on the happy moments - and of course that is the type of book he has every right to make. I just want to learn how to over come the harder moments in life. I think he could certainly write a lot in that area.

BUT it was cool to see his personality. He’s such a goofy guy. He sounds like a good person who really was blessed to have an incredible group of people supporting him. All the right ingredients fell into place. I like how he touches on other swimmers journeys like his sisters. You can tell he realizes this can all be taken away at any minute.

This man is just incredible. What he accomplished was insane. And he truly seemed level headed throughout it all. Any mistakes he made along the way make sense as a young guy coming down from the incredible high of his accomplishments. We know now about the depression he has faced.

[David Cain · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is an interesting read for fans of Michael Phelps, although the description of training strategies and race splits will likely be somewhat tedious for anyone who hasn't swum competitively before. And the description of other swimmers (teammates as well as competitors) can sometimes be hard to follow as the other athletes' full names aren't always used. The cover statement "Includes RIO 2016" is quite misleading as the book ends with the buildup to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and therefore does not cover those games or the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympics (nor all the World Championships from 2009-2015). So the focus is on Phelps' early career and his greatest accomplishments are not mentioned - this really feels like false advertising on the cover and the only mention of Phelp's final three Olympic games is a list of his medals at the beginning of the book. That said, you will definitely come away with a good sense of Phelps' personality, his relationship with his family and coach (Bob Bowman), and his approach to training and competing.

[Denise Hatcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Phelps: I have seen him swim and admired him during interviews, but this book proved he is the good person I thought he was. This book is so real. He talks about eating McDonalds and some of the challenges he faced on his athletic journey leading up to the Beijing Olympics. He loves animals and begged for years for a dog. He put a down payment on a car for his mom one year for Christmas and thanked her for all she did for him. He respects his teammates and recognizes them as helping to push him towards his successes. He makes no excuses for anything bad in his life. He respects his fans and wanted to be a part of swimming becoming a more popular spectator event. This book, Beneath the Surface, confirms the image I had of him as a good person who worked hard and appreciates his journey and the people that chose to accompany him. Thank you, Michael.

[Urja Sen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tell me about Michael Phelps, one of the most decorated Olympians of, I guess, our generation. So it's a story about how he became the Olympian he is now. And it's very fascinating. It's a great breakdown of all his hardships and all the struggles that he's had to go through. I, for one, used to be a swimmer Before college. And now, when I beat it, it gives me great insight into what I must be like to be one of the most accurate Olympians ever. He also happens to be one of my favorite swimmers for as long as I can remember. So reading something that is, you know, the closest I'll probably get to meeting him was fascinating. So it's a great book. It's something that I would encourage. All want to be Olympians or—just athletes- to read because. You see a different side of some of our biggest names in athleticism.

[Ankur Chopra · Rating 3 out of 5]

For some reasons, I had high expectations from this book. But somehow, I felt underwhelmed reading the book.

It provides tedious insights with regards to his swimming both practice and events in which he participated and not much about the mental health challenges and other challenges which he had faced during his career.

After knowing that Phelps was diagnosed with ADHD, I was interested in knowing about that part of his journey more than the swimming related stuff, maybe I had wrong expectations.

However, for swimming enthusiasts this is a great book about a genuine G.O.A.T athlete and the dedication and perseverance of not only Phelps, but his entire family and Coaches and support staff.

I can only rate this one as 3.5 stars.

[Meg Berg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook because I thought it was a book that my 11 year old swimmer son might enjoy, but wanted to make sure that the content wasn't too mature for him. Actually, I found that it almost seems to be written for this age group. The style is very functional and, despite its name, nothing goes too far beneath the surface. Many of the anecdotes are interesting or amusing, but there wasn't anything shocking. For an adult, it was interesting enough to keep reading, but a little painful in execution. For a middle grade kid, I have a feeling that it will be a hit.

[Vikrant · Rating 4 out of 5]

The life of arguably (and very few would argue) one of the best atheletes ever and the most decorated Olympian of all time is - apparently - the same as every other normal guy. Just playing video games, eating, chilling with family and friends, roaming, breaking world records before you're 12, etc. Normal everyday things.

A little training here and there, because every kid needs a hobby, I guess...

An awesome book covered with - literally - dozens of world records, and a great read altogether!

[Q Cash · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read about and from Michael Phelps. It was interesting to see everything from his viewpoint as a small child all the way up to the medals he got in Athens. I would like to read another book that includes all the way to retirement as he won so many more events and medals in the next three Olympics. This isn’t a motivational or leadership book just a history from Phelps’ perspective in training and racing. As someone who loves sports, loves the water and enjoyed watching him swim in the Olympics, this is a fully recommended read.

[Anna K. Lindegren · Rating 5 out of 5]

You think a hero is a hero when he or she stands on the Olympic podium and getting a gold medal?
No, the hero is becoming a hero waking up every morning at 4 a.m. and going to practice... Every day of the week, train hard, train harder with no weekends... Total focus and total control....

Beneath a surface is an amazing book about the greatest swimmer world has ever known! Extremely motivating, informative and very honest.

Love it!