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The Watermen: The Birth of American Swimming and One Young Man's Fight to Capture Olympic Gold
The feel-good underdog story of the first American swimmer to win Olympic gold, set against the turbulent rebirth of the modern Games, that “bring[s] to life an inspiring figure and illuminate[s] an overlooked chapter in America’s sports history” ( The Wall Street Journal )
“Once or twice in a decade, one of these stories . . . like Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken [or] Daniel Brown’s The Boys in the Boat . . . captures the imagination of the public. . . . Add The Watermen by Michael Loynd to this illustrious list.”— Swimming World
Winner of the International Swimming Hall of Fame’s Paragon Award and the Buck Dawson Authors Award
In the early twentieth century, few Americans knew how to swim, and swimming as a competitive sport was almost unheard of. That is, until Charles Daniels took to the water.
On the surface, young Charles had it high-society parents, a place at an exclusive New York City prep school, summer vacations in the Adirondacks. But the scrawny teenager suffered from extreme anxiety thanks to a sadistic father who mired the family in bankruptcy and scandal before abandoning Charles and his mother altogether. Charles’s only source of joy was swimming. But with no one to teach him, he struggled with technique—until he caught the eye of two immigrant coaches hell-bent on building a U.S. swim program that could rival the British Empire’s seventy-year domination of the sport.
Interwoven with the story of Charles’s efforts to overcome his family’s disgrace is the compelling history of the struggle to establish the modern Olympics in an era when competitive sports were still in their infancy. When the powerful British Empire finally legitimized the Games by hosting the fourth Olympiad in 1908, Charles’s hard-fought rise climaxed in a gold-medal race where British judges prepared a trap to ensure the American upstart’s defeat.
Set in the early days of a rapidly changing twentieth century, The Watermen —a term used at the time to describe men skilled in water sports—tells an engrossing story of grit, of the growth of a major new sport in which Americans would prevail, and of a young man’s determination to excel.
“Once or twice in a decade, one of these stories . . . like Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken [or] Daniel Brown’s The Boys in the Boat . . . captures the imagination of the public. . . . Add The Watermen by Michael Loynd to this illustrious list.”— Swimming World
Winner of the International Swimming Hall of Fame’s Paragon Award and the Buck Dawson Authors Award
In the early twentieth century, few Americans knew how to swim, and swimming as a competitive sport was almost unheard of. That is, until Charles Daniels took to the water.
On the surface, young Charles had it high-society parents, a place at an exclusive New York City prep school, summer vacations in the Adirondacks. But the scrawny teenager suffered from extreme anxiety thanks to a sadistic father who mired the family in bankruptcy and scandal before abandoning Charles and his mother altogether. Charles’s only source of joy was swimming. But with no one to teach him, he struggled with technique—until he caught the eye of two immigrant coaches hell-bent on building a U.S. swim program that could rival the British Empire’s seventy-year domination of the sport.
Interwoven with the story of Charles’s efforts to overcome his family’s disgrace is the compelling history of the struggle to establish the modern Olympics in an era when competitive sports were still in their infancy. When the powerful British Empire finally legitimized the Games by hosting the fourth Olympiad in 1908, Charles’s hard-fought rise climaxed in a gold-medal race where British judges prepared a trap to ensure the American upstart’s defeat.
Set in the early days of a rapidly changing twentieth century, The Watermen —a term used at the time to describe men skilled in water sports—tells an engrossing story of grit, of the growth of a major new sport in which Americans would prevail, and of a young man’s determination to excel.
416 pages, Hardcover
Published June 7, 2022
48 people are currently reading
4968 people want to read
About the author
Michael Loynd
3 books52 followersMichael Loynd is the author of ALL THINGS IRISH: A NOVEL, and the upcoming true story, THE WATERMEN, for Ballantine Random House. Married to his high school sweetheart, they live in St. Louis with their four children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
March 5, 2022
This is a book with a lot of potential, but struggles to find its direction. My main feedback would be for another really strong round of editing. There is a lot of speculative emotion, movement between storylines that seem frivolous, and very little connection to the characters being built. In the end, the book struggles to find a cohesive narrative. It seems as if the author is trying to tell every story imaginable and as a result struggles to find one. It seems to try to do too much and never gets where it needs to be. Its an important set of stories that all deserve to be told, but maybe not as one long, disjointed process.
June 28, 2024
I found this fascinating, informative, and frustrating all at once. FAR too much supposition about motivations and an almost forced storyline about Charlie's father. I think there was a way to include the storyline (because, yes, it did inform the overall story) without so much speculative angst. If you find yourself as an author using "perhaps, may have, one can only wonder, it must have been" in every chapter, it probably means one of two things: either you haven't done your research, or you are creating your own narrative by speculating. There was plenty to this book without the speculation about childhood abandonment issues.
September 10, 2023
This is a great read for those involved in the world of competitive swimming. Not only does it delve into the history of how the sport developed but also into the history of the Olympic Games. One also sees the interaction between the politics of the world, the social elite's views, how women were treated, and the infrastructure of athletic facilities. I highly recommend this book - but keep in mind it is more of a history text than a novel.
June 24, 2023
DNF
I stopped reading at page 206
I struggled with this book, too much drama about Charles Daniels's absentee father, making you feel so sorry for him and his abandoned mother. It was too heavy-handed I was rolling my eyes whenever it gets to this part. So much promise though and really amazing facts such as how it was illegal and taboo to swim because of Puritanism and how so many people have drowned because of this belief and how a lot of super power countries back then thought so little of the Olympics.
I stopped reading at page 206
I struggled with this book, too much drama about Charles Daniels's absentee father, making you feel so sorry for him and his abandoned mother. It was too heavy-handed I was rolling my eyes whenever it gets to this part. So much promise though and really amazing facts such as how it was illegal and taboo to swim because of Puritanism and how so many people have drowned because of this belief and how a lot of super power countries back then thought so little of the Olympics.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 7, 2023
I thought it would be boring but it was anything but! Highly recommend.
December 23, 2025
This book is recommended for those who are interested in/involved with competitive swimming or those (like me) who loved the underdog, historical, Olympic sports story “The Boys in the Boat.”
Amazing that this champion, who invented what we now know as the freestyle, is not more well known. I was also fascinated to read about the evolution of swimming in the US…both as a skill and as a sport. The British monopoly on the sport was surprising to me…given Olympic swimming is now dominated by other nations.
Amazing that this champion, who invented what we now know as the freestyle, is not more well known. I was also fascinated to read about the evolution of swimming in the US…both as a skill and as a sport. The British monopoly on the sport was surprising to me…given Olympic swimming is now dominated by other nations.
October 11, 2024
I enjoyed this. I think we take for granted that our modern day “sports” and competitions are what they have been since we’ve known them so this was a neat look into how swimming really came to be a sport. It’s especially fascinating hearing about the ways the strokes developed and the non-uniform “rules” for competitions, after having kids compete in the sport and needing to know what the regulations are! Worthwhile read about an era and a group of athletes that paved the way.
October 15, 2023
I read “The Watermen” in preparation for a book club. I am glad it was chosen. It is biography, Olympic and sporting history with the suspense of a novel rolled into one.
Set early in the twentieth century, the central character is Charles Daniels, scion of a broken marriage who took on every challenge presented by swimming and Olympic authority and social convention. Daniel’s father abandoned the family and went on an extended white-collar crime spree. The stigma of divorce precluded Charles’ mother from the social life her family enjoyed. Charles was a driving force as American swimming was just coming into its own in a field dominated by Europeans.
Beginning in 1896, this narrative takes readers back to an age when swimming, both competitive and recreational, was, in America, virtually unknown. Though their names now mostly forgotten we read of the men who competed to establish reputations and set records.
Author Michael Loynd has woven several tales into one. Covering the Olympics from 1896-1908, Loynd chronicles a movement aborning and feeling its way on the path to the extravaganza it is now. It was an era in which the Olympics struggled to be accepted as a worthwhile competition. Athletes represented their clubs, not nations and gold medals were not awarded until the third modern games in St Louis in 1904. In contrast to contemporary pristine conditions, Daniels and his competitors trained in pools in which the only hygiene was to drain the water when it got too murky, swam through polluted lakes anf dealt with unpredictable starting signals in front of a populace that rarely cared.
Being a nascent sport, records were falling regularly and frequently contested. National rivalries, primarily between the United States and the British Empire, reflect the nationalism of the age. Much text is devoted to specific races, their significance, conditions and outcomes. If I see a weakness in this work, it is the detailed descriptions that tend to drown interest in minutiae.
Finally, there is the Daniels’ family tale of Charles, his parents, grandparents and, eventually, his wife. It is a saga of love and devotion, irresponsibility and deceit.
I will leave the descriptions at that so as not to leak any spoilers. I appreciate the author’s adherence to fact. Rather than imputing motives and actions, he carefully documented his assertions in his 23 pages of notes. I appreciate “The Watermen” on several levels, the history of the early Olympic movement, the inspiring saga of Daniels’ personal and athletic determination and achievement and the life stories that intersect on these pages. On a personal basis, the extensive St. Louis references are gratifying. Dive in and find your own heroes and villains in “The Watermen”.
Set early in the twentieth century, the central character is Charles Daniels, scion of a broken marriage who took on every challenge presented by swimming and Olympic authority and social convention. Daniel’s father abandoned the family and went on an extended white-collar crime spree. The stigma of divorce precluded Charles’ mother from the social life her family enjoyed. Charles was a driving force as American swimming was just coming into its own in a field dominated by Europeans.
Beginning in 1896, this narrative takes readers back to an age when swimming, both competitive and recreational, was, in America, virtually unknown. Though their names now mostly forgotten we read of the men who competed to establish reputations and set records.
Author Michael Loynd has woven several tales into one. Covering the Olympics from 1896-1908, Loynd chronicles a movement aborning and feeling its way on the path to the extravaganza it is now. It was an era in which the Olympics struggled to be accepted as a worthwhile competition. Athletes represented their clubs, not nations and gold medals were not awarded until the third modern games in St Louis in 1904. In contrast to contemporary pristine conditions, Daniels and his competitors trained in pools in which the only hygiene was to drain the water when it got too murky, swam through polluted lakes anf dealt with unpredictable starting signals in front of a populace that rarely cared.
Being a nascent sport, records were falling regularly and frequently contested. National rivalries, primarily between the United States and the British Empire, reflect the nationalism of the age. Much text is devoted to specific races, their significance, conditions and outcomes. If I see a weakness in this work, it is the detailed descriptions that tend to drown interest in minutiae.
Finally, there is the Daniels’ family tale of Charles, his parents, grandparents and, eventually, his wife. It is a saga of love and devotion, irresponsibility and deceit.
I will leave the descriptions at that so as not to leak any spoilers. I appreciate the author’s adherence to fact. Rather than imputing motives and actions, he carefully documented his assertions in his 23 pages of notes. I appreciate “The Watermen” on several levels, the history of the early Olympic movement, the inspiring saga of Daniels’ personal and athletic determination and achievement and the life stories that intersect on these pages. On a personal basis, the extensive St. Louis references are gratifying. Dive in and find your own heroes and villains in “The Watermen”.
February 27, 2023
(Audiobook) (4.5 stars) Before Michael Phelps, before Mark Spitz, there was Charley Daniels, the first great American swimmer. He came along at a time when not many Americans swam, and few where noted as particularly great swimmers. Loynd combines the history of American swimming competitions, the rise of the Olympics, late 19th century/early 20th century social norms and international sporting rivalries into one engaging narrative. The British Empire was seen as supreme in athletics, but America eventually matched them, mainly through the efforts of Daniels.
The Daniels story is practically straight from classic American underdog to champion mythology. Born to seemingly affluence, he grows up somewhat sickly, a social outcast and filled with anxiety. His father is the main villain in this work, a businessman worthy of comparisons to Madoff in the 21st century. The divorce from this man all but wrecks his mother’s life, even though the husband is at fault. Still, Daniels overcomes all these limitations and manages to be an Olympic star. He overcomes class discrimination and the arrogance of European/English swimming. Daniels also was one of the first to use the freestyle swimming stroke, a universal constant in competitive and recreational swimming.
You don’t have to be a swimming fan to enjoy this work. My only real beef with the author is that after Daniels’ success in the 1908 Olympics, he just zooms right past the rest of Daniels’ life. Doesn’t even mention that he was inaugurated into the Swimming Hall of Fame right about the time of his death. Daniels’ record for swimming medals lasted nearly 64 years, until Spitz broke it, who then gave way to Michael Phelps. Phelps is the GOAT of swimmers, but Daniels is the Founding Father of American swimming dominance and one whose story should be better known.
The Daniels story is practically straight from classic American underdog to champion mythology. Born to seemingly affluence, he grows up somewhat sickly, a social outcast and filled with anxiety. His father is the main villain in this work, a businessman worthy of comparisons to Madoff in the 21st century. The divorce from this man all but wrecks his mother’s life, even though the husband is at fault. Still, Daniels overcomes all these limitations and manages to be an Olympic star. He overcomes class discrimination and the arrogance of European/English swimming. Daniels also was one of the first to use the freestyle swimming stroke, a universal constant in competitive and recreational swimming.
You don’t have to be a swimming fan to enjoy this work. My only real beef with the author is that after Daniels’ success in the 1908 Olympics, he just zooms right past the rest of Daniels’ life. Doesn’t even mention that he was inaugurated into the Swimming Hall of Fame right about the time of his death. Daniels’ record for swimming medals lasted nearly 64 years, until Spitz broke it, who then gave way to Michael Phelps. Phelps is the GOAT of swimmers, but Daniels is the Founding Father of American swimming dominance and one whose story should be better known.
July 4, 2024
The Watermen: The Birth of American Swimming and One Young Man's Fight to Capture Olympic Gold
By Michael Loynd, narrated by Will Damron
My love for sports has come from the love of doing them, running (walking now because of joints), biking (indoors now for safety reasons...no wild hogs or loose dogs for me), and swimming (my dad's love of water was catching). So swimming was always one of my favorite events in the Olympics, along with the running and biking events. When I saw this audiobook I jumped at it and it was only after I started it that I realized a favorite narrator, Will Damron, was narrating it. A win all around for me!
Before this book, I knew nothing about Charles Daniels, the fact that so few Americans knew how to swim at the beginning of the 1900s (although it was obvious that any woman who tried to swim in the ton of swim clothing they'd be burdened with just might drowned due to too much wet clothing), or that the freestyle wasn't even invented yet. I learned so much more, too. The pools back in the time when Charlie was breaking records were sometimes so dirty that the water was green or brown and the bottom of the pool couldn't be seen. I learned that US polo at that time was literally no holds barred and a deadly, dangerous sport. Opponents were often in lock holds at the bottom of the pool, having to be pulled out of the water because they both passed out before they would give way to the other.
Charles was a quiet, anxious young man, with a father who abandoned his mother and Charlie for a lifetime of swindling. Even when Charlie's father was caught, he'd just move on and start another swindle. Charlie's mother came from a good, well off family but despite the fact that it was Charlie's dad who left the family, Charlie and his mom were the ones to bare any burden of guilt and scorn. Charlie's mother went from being an active part of society to having to hide her identity and the fact that her husband had left her. It seems that being abandoned by his crook of a father both shamed Charlie but also may have spurred him on, hopefully to finally have his father notice or acknowledge him.
One thing his father did for him, though, was to inspire Charlie to swim, whether his dad knew he was doing so or not. Once Charlie started swimming he never wanted to stop. He wanted to be good at it and he worked hard at it, despite no sign of talent, at first, just the will to keep on showing up to practice, day after day. In the beginning, Charlie was on his own, practicing alone during times when the pool was available, no coach, no one to encourage him, and actually, lots to discourage him.
Interwoven into this story is the history of the modern Olympics. So many hurdles to overcome to even come close to what it would be decades later. Charlie certainly did his part by becoming the greatest swimmer of his time. Such a humble, quiet man, never there for the limelight, and finally knowing when he was ready to set it all aside. What he set aside was the competition, but never the swimming.
Audiobook pubJune 7, 2022
Thanks to my library and Libby for this audiobook.
By Michael Loynd, narrated by Will Damron
My love for sports has come from the love of doing them, running (walking now because of joints), biking (indoors now for safety reasons...no wild hogs or loose dogs for me), and swimming (my dad's love of water was catching). So swimming was always one of my favorite events in the Olympics, along with the running and biking events. When I saw this audiobook I jumped at it and it was only after I started it that I realized a favorite narrator, Will Damron, was narrating it. A win all around for me!
Before this book, I knew nothing about Charles Daniels, the fact that so few Americans knew how to swim at the beginning of the 1900s (although it was obvious that any woman who tried to swim in the ton of swim clothing they'd be burdened with just might drowned due to too much wet clothing), or that the freestyle wasn't even invented yet. I learned so much more, too. The pools back in the time when Charlie was breaking records were sometimes so dirty that the water was green or brown and the bottom of the pool couldn't be seen. I learned that US polo at that time was literally no holds barred and a deadly, dangerous sport. Opponents were often in lock holds at the bottom of the pool, having to be pulled out of the water because they both passed out before they would give way to the other.
Charles was a quiet, anxious young man, with a father who abandoned his mother and Charlie for a lifetime of swindling. Even when Charlie's father was caught, he'd just move on and start another swindle. Charlie's mother came from a good, well off family but despite the fact that it was Charlie's dad who left the family, Charlie and his mom were the ones to bare any burden of guilt and scorn. Charlie's mother went from being an active part of society to having to hide her identity and the fact that her husband had left her. It seems that being abandoned by his crook of a father both shamed Charlie but also may have spurred him on, hopefully to finally have his father notice or acknowledge him.
One thing his father did for him, though, was to inspire Charlie to swim, whether his dad knew he was doing so or not. Once Charlie started swimming he never wanted to stop. He wanted to be good at it and he worked hard at it, despite no sign of talent, at first, just the will to keep on showing up to practice, day after day. In the beginning, Charlie was on his own, practicing alone during times when the pool was available, no coach, no one to encourage him, and actually, lots to discourage him.
Interwoven into this story is the history of the modern Olympics. So many hurdles to overcome to even come close to what it would be decades later. Charlie certainly did his part by becoming the greatest swimmer of his time. Such a humble, quiet man, never there for the limelight, and finally knowing when he was ready to set it all aside. What he set aside was the competition, but never the swimming.
Audiobook pubJune 7, 2022
Thanks to my library and Libby for this audiobook.
May 19, 2022
This is the kind of book that reminds you of Rudi or Brian's Song. It the tall of those people who feel that they've come up with a great sports idea and want to do all they can to make it popular. In the late 1890s few Americans could swim which was strange for a country bounded on two sides by oceans and containing so of the biggest rivers in the world. But most Americans couldn't swim.
Most of those who swam (watermen) belonged to private men's club that had small pools of 25 yards or less. For many years they only used the backstroke and the breaststroke. In the first modern Olympic in Athens in 1896 all events were held in ocean water or coves. It wasn't pretty and most of the medals were won by Great Britain where swimming was widespread.
Though there were Americans at the 1900 Olympics, the Americans were badly humiliated by the English. Just before the 1904 Olympics, the sidewheel paddle steamer General Slocum caught fire
and over 1000 people drowned. What made it even worse was that the ship sank twenty-five feet from land. The newspapers and the YMCA began a program of water safety and swimming.
By the 1904 Olympics (the 1906 non-Olympics) and the 1908, the Americans had begun to bring top flight swimmers to compete. By the time of the 1908 Olympics, Americans held almost all the world's swimming records. The first great American swimmer was Charlie Daniels who won medals at the 1904 and 1908 Olympics, after which many colleges began swim teams and the US became a world power at swimming.
Most of those who swam (watermen) belonged to private men's club that had small pools of 25 yards or less. For many years they only used the backstroke and the breaststroke. In the first modern Olympic in Athens in 1896 all events were held in ocean water or coves. It wasn't pretty and most of the medals were won by Great Britain where swimming was widespread.
Though there were Americans at the 1900 Olympics, the Americans were badly humiliated by the English. Just before the 1904 Olympics, the sidewheel paddle steamer General Slocum caught fire
and over 1000 people drowned. What made it even worse was that the ship sank twenty-five feet from land. The newspapers and the YMCA began a program of water safety and swimming.
By the 1904 Olympics (the 1906 non-Olympics) and the 1908, the Americans had begun to bring top flight swimmers to compete. By the time of the 1908 Olympics, Americans held almost all the world's swimming records. The first great American swimmer was Charlie Daniels who won medals at the 1904 and 1908 Olympics, after which many colleges began swim teams and the US became a world power at swimming.
June 6, 2024
In the early twentieth century, few Americans knew how to swim, and swimming as a competitive sport was almost unheard of. That is, until Charles Daniels took to the water.
On the surface, young Charles had it high-society parents, a place at an exclusive New York City prep school, summer vacations in the Adirondacks. But the scrawny teenager suffered from extreme anxiety thanks to a sadistic father who mired the family in bankruptcy and scandal before abandoning Charles and his mother altogether. Charles’s only source of joy was swimming. But with no one to teach him, he struggled with technique—until he caught the eye of two immigrant coaches hell-bent on building a U.S. swim program that could rival the British Empire’s seventy-year domination of the sport.
Interwoven with the story of Charles’s efforts to overcome his family’s disgrace is the compelling history of the struggle to establish the modern Olympics in an era when competitive sports were still in their infancy. When the powerful British Empire finally legitimized the Games by hosting the fourth Olympiad in 1908, Charles’s hard-fought rise climaxed in a gold-medal race where British judges prepared a trap to ensure the American upstart’s defeat.
A great story, along the lines of Boys in the Boat! I love a good underdog story and this was both a personal and national story of fighting back and making a splash. Really good listen.
On the surface, young Charles had it high-society parents, a place at an exclusive New York City prep school, summer vacations in the Adirondacks. But the scrawny teenager suffered from extreme anxiety thanks to a sadistic father who mired the family in bankruptcy and scandal before abandoning Charles and his mother altogether. Charles’s only source of joy was swimming. But with no one to teach him, he struggled with technique—until he caught the eye of two immigrant coaches hell-bent on building a U.S. swim program that could rival the British Empire’s seventy-year domination of the sport.
Interwoven with the story of Charles’s efforts to overcome his family’s disgrace is the compelling history of the struggle to establish the modern Olympics in an era when competitive sports were still in their infancy. When the powerful British Empire finally legitimized the Games by hosting the fourth Olympiad in 1908, Charles’s hard-fought rise climaxed in a gold-medal race where British judges prepared a trap to ensure the American upstart’s defeat.
A great story, along the lines of Boys in the Boat! I love a good underdog story and this was both a personal and national story of fighting back and making a splash. Really good listen.
May 26, 2025
Charlie Daniels was born into a privileged family and should have had a life of leisure, easy success, and social status. Instead, his father constantly criticized and belittled Charlie for his shyness and anxiety. After his father abandoned the family when Charlie was 11, the boy was acutely aware of the shame this caused. He was determined to prove that he and his mother were worthy of respect. He taught himself to swim, and then set about becoming an international champion. Setting records, working hard, and responding to public scrutiny with courage and modesty even when press coverage and public opinion were hurtful aor inflammatory, he raised the awareness about and quality of swimming in America. His efforts and successes ushered in a flourishing of training and talent that has led to over a century of American victories in the pool at the Olympics and other international competitions.
The stories of the men and women who dedicated their lives to promoting swimming as both a lifesaving skill and an exciting sport are compelling. Outsized characters, egos and opinions were abundant. In this company, Charlie Daniels was overshadowed, preferring to keep quiet and let his swimming speak for itself. Although his record times have now all been surpassed, he remains the true godfather of American aquatic sports. His moment in history is worth reading about, remembering, and being respected.
The stories of the men and women who dedicated their lives to promoting swimming as both a lifesaving skill and an exciting sport are compelling. Outsized characters, egos and opinions were abundant. In this company, Charlie Daniels was overshadowed, preferring to keep quiet and let his swimming speak for itself. Although his record times have now all been surpassed, he remains the true godfather of American aquatic sports. His moment in history is worth reading about, remembering, and being respected.
February 27, 2025
This could have been a great book; I thoroughly enjoyed tracking the evolution of swimming strokes, swimming as a sport, and even the Olympics. But I detested the author's relentless attribution of psychological motivations of anxiety, shame, and abandonment onto both Charley and his mother. "Perhaps ... Charley [was] hoping to gain some sense of self-worth," "Alice's battered psyche," "The whole ordeal seemed to stir repressed personal pains buried deep within the twnety-one-year-old." The author was absolutely fixated on his own diagnosis of some narcissistic parent thing that invaded the entire book. He did a disservice to both Charley Daniels' memory and to what could have been a good book.
October 21, 2022
I really enjoyed this book! I won an unfinished version through the Goodreads Giveaways, so I’m sure after another round of edits I’d give it 5 stars.
Charley is an easily loved protagonist and Loynd does a good job to get you to care/root for him. Definitely had some late nights staying up to finish chapters or see how an upcoming race ended. I also enjoyed the educational tangents on the origins of the modern Olympics, world fair, different people, etc.
The only thing I disliked was the whole thing with Charley’s dad. It kept being implied that he would ruin Charley’s reputation or something, but then that would never happened. Felt like it was a bit overplayed.
Charley is an easily loved protagonist and Loynd does a good job to get you to care/root for him. Definitely had some late nights staying up to finish chapters or see how an upcoming race ended. I also enjoyed the educational tangents on the origins of the modern Olympics, world fair, different people, etc.
The only thing I disliked was the whole thing with Charley’s dad. It kept being implied that he would ruin Charley’s reputation or something, but then that would never happened. Felt like it was a bit overplayed.
May 25, 2024
An inspiring story of one man’s quest to overcome personal challenges and the societal prejudices of his time to become the worlds best swimmer. For more than 60 years he held the most Olympic medals in the sport and in the process of earning them “invented” the freestyle/crawl stroke we use today and shaped the future of swimming in America. A bit of a “dry” read but so chocked full of fascinating and well researched information on the history of swimming and the evolution of the Olympic Games it was hard to put down. Right up there with The Boys in the Boat as an unforgettable beating the odds story.
September 7, 2024
I didn’t care as much for the origins of the modern Olympics, but it was fun to see the cattiness.
And, wow, was there cattiness.
Charles Daniels came from a privileged family, but his father was a fraudster who abandoned Charles and his mother.
He and his mother had to hide their circumstances, lest society (and the athletic clubs’ pools) shunned them.
I enjoyed Daniels’ story very much.
I’m not a swimmer. The descriptions of the strokes went over my head. I thought that the trudgeon sounded bizzarre, and the crawl sounded a lot like freestyle.
If you know competitive swimming better than I do, you’ll enjoy this book.
And, wow, was there cattiness.
Charles Daniels came from a privileged family, but his father was a fraudster who abandoned Charles and his mother.
He and his mother had to hide their circumstances, lest society (and the athletic clubs’ pools) shunned them.
I enjoyed Daniels’ story very much.
I’m not a swimmer. The descriptions of the strokes went over my head. I thought that the trudgeon sounded bizzarre, and the crawl sounded a lot like freestyle.
If you know competitive swimming better than I do, you’ll enjoy this book.
June 7, 2022
This book was such fun - combining something we all know a lot about - competitive swimming - with the history of it in our country through the legendary Charles Daniels. Had I ever heard of him? No. Is this a fascinating true story? Yes! I love books like this that take something I knew nothing about while tying it together with familiar things going on during the same time. Thoroughly and well-researched with fun extra notes to read throughout , this book would be a great read for anyone who loves an underdog story. Loved the photographs! Thanks to Ballantine for the advanced copy!
July 27, 2022
A very well researched book about Charlie Daniels, his anxiety and how swimming helped him succeed in life. This is also the story of the Olympics and how competitive sports evolved. Beginning in 1896, when Charles is eleven and continuing through 1972, at age eighty-seven when he watches Mark Spitz win seven gold medals, the greatest Olympic feat of any swimmer in history, all in world-record time. I learned a great deal of history by reading this book. It reminded me of The Boys in the Boat.
Highly recommended!
Highly recommended!
October 1, 2022
Wow! A well researched look at Charles M. Daniels, the man who invented the "freestyle" stroke and catapulted American swimming into the competitive sport it is today. This insightful book also provides rich context of the amateur showing scene and the birth of the modern Olympics. Loynd compiles their research into a narrative that reads like fiction but is so rich with detailed facts and accompanying notes you can tell how much energy went into researching the topics presented in this book. A must-read for sports fans and history buffs alike!
October 30, 2022
Interesting history of Charles Daniels, swimming, and the Olympics. It’s a compelling story written in a way that leaves you wanting to keep reading to find out what happens next, and I learned a lot from it, especially about the evolution of freestyle. Four stars instead of five only because of the way the author makes assumptions about what may have motivated the main characters or what the father may have been thinking, which takes away from the history and competition. The character building and setting is good early on but it starts to feel forced later in the book.
September 30, 2024
This nonfiction book gives the account of a shy adolescent's journey to becoming an Olympic champion during the early years of the twentieth century. It paints a very clear picture of the infancy of competitive swimming and the struggles of launching the modern Olympics.
This audiobook was the perfect accompaniment to a very long car ride. Our fascination with this story never waned. I would highly recommend this to readers/listeners who loved The Boys in the Boat .
Audiobook: 12 hours, 36 minutes.
This audiobook was the perfect accompaniment to a very long car ride. Our fascination with this story never waned. I would highly recommend this to readers/listeners who loved The Boys in the Boat .
Audiobook: 12 hours, 36 minutes.
June 26, 2022
This was a compelling read, in the vein of Boys in the Boat. I really enjoyed learning about the history of swimming and the way the author provided context regarding America's efforts to emerge as an international power. Great info about the Olympics, as well. Great characters, as well. It's amazing to think that a relatively short time ago, very few people in the US new how to swim! Definitely recommend for anyone interested in sports and history—not just swimming.
August 25, 2022
Interesting snippet of history about the Olympics and swimming. Wish there would have been a better explanation of the “trudgen” stroke. Seemed to speculate about how the fathers absence drove his will to swim - makes a better story I suppose. Not that it was to be ignored, but seemed like it was pushed a little hard but hey, maybe that’s how it was? If there are swimmers in your family, this is an interesting read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 4, 2022
I enjoyed reading about the birth of the modern day Olympics and the start of competitive swimming in the US. The history is fascinating. The life story of Charlie Daniels was quite sad, and obviously influenced him heavily. But the author makes such a strong “wound from the father” case that it’s hard to know to what extent it was Charlie’s story vs the authors own story. Also quite a bit of aside social commentary regarding racial tension, homosexuality, and women’s rights.
September 19, 2022
This is a great book for swimmers. I learned so much about the history of swimming and the Olympics. Had no idea ‘the crawl’ was preceded by trudgen and side stroke. Crazy. Book definitely got into lots of details that were a bit ancillary and too much. Still, learned a lot about politics of racing and Olympics. Probably necessary to set stage. Similar with stories of his dad for backdrop. Very interesting.
November 10, 2022
I first heard about this book on the radio, it sounded interesting and it didn’t disappoint. I found it neat learning the origins of how swimming became a popular pastime in the US.
Unfortunately, the narrative was a bit slow for my taste and jumped around too many subjects. Maybe cutting some of the extra information about the major players in the creation of the modern Olympics and less focus on Charley’s father would have kept me more interested.
Unfortunately, the narrative was a bit slow for my taste and jumped around too many subjects. Maybe cutting some of the extra information about the major players in the creation of the modern Olympics and less focus on Charley’s father would have kept me more interested.
December 1, 2022
I just finished reading The Watermen, about a boy who is abused by his father. The father later abandoned his wife and young son
Charles Daniels. The son takes up swimming
but he's no Mark Spitz to be sure!
But young Charles is a gritty tough kid
who stays with it. At the beginning of the 20th
century flew Americans swam. The author
goes into detail who the British and her empire
ruled in aquatics.
What Daniels achieved was truly monumental!
What a masterful underdog story.
5 glorious 🌟🌟🌟🌟!
Charles Daniels. The son takes up swimming
but he's no Mark Spitz to be sure!
But young Charles is a gritty tough kid
who stays with it. At the beginning of the 20th
century flew Americans swam. The author
goes into detail who the British and her empire
ruled in aquatics.
What Daniels achieved was truly monumental!
What a masterful underdog story.
5 glorious 🌟🌟🌟🌟!
December 17, 2023
Really enjoyed this book about an underdog who becomes a world champion swimmer and found it difficult to put down. Woven in are interesting back stories about the birth of swimming as a sport in the US, the development of the modern Olympics, the emergence of women in sport and the dominance of the British Empire in the world of sports (and their attempts to quash the scrappy upstart Americans). Well researched and with good photos.
January 11, 2024
An amazing true story of a child searching for acceptance and belonging who finds his home in the water surrounded by like minded men. Charlie grows up with these same swimmers from young teen to Olympic champion. His team mates and coaches cheer, support and encourage him throughout his quest to win the gold, defeat the Brits and earn the respect of American.
A truly riveting struggle as the underdog gradually overcomes the giant which allows the United States a place at the Olympic table!
A truly riveting struggle as the underdog gradually overcomes the giant which allows the United States a place at the Olympic table!
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