Swimming to Antarctica: Tales of a Long-Distance Swimmer (Alex Awards (Awards))

Review 'her thrilling new memoir...SWIMMING TO ANTARCTICA, in fact, tells two stories: the compellingly reconstructed thrill-ride of her swimming career and also, tucked in the folds of her fluid prose, her maturing as a storyteller.' -- Andrew Gumbel THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY 'her remarkable memoir... SWIMMING TO ANTARCTICA reveals a talent for lyrical storytelling that feeds directly off the author's experience of nature and her place in it. -- Melissa Katsoulis THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'This is a strange, beautiful book.' -- Melanie Reid THE HERALD 'this gutsy memoir.' -- John Koski YOU MAGAZINE 'An unforgettable and beautifully written autobiography of the most remarkable long-distance swimmer.' SUNDAY EXPRESS 'Cox describes her thoughts upon hitting the water for a one-mile swim off the coast of Antarctica: "All I could think about was moving forward." The same drive infuses her gripping memoir of a career spent one-upping herself. In an understated style as clear as polar sunlight, Cox re-creates her epic swims and brilliantly conveys what it feels like to push across Antarctica, the English Channel and the Bering Strait.' SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (USA) 'This gripping memoir' -- Tom de Castella THE NEW STATESMAN 'an enchanting, almost mesmerising book.' -- Sara Wheeler LITERARY REVIEW 'this delightful memoir...an entertaining yet profound read.' -- Catherine Humble THE OBSERVER Product Description • At age fourteen, she swam twenty-six miles from Catalina Island to the California mainland. • At ages fifteen and sixteen, she broke the men’s and women’s world records for swimming the English Channel—a thirty-three-mile crossing in nine hours, thirty-six minutes. • At eighteen, she swam the twenty-mile Cook Strait between North and South Islands of New Zealand, was caught on a massive swell, found herself after five hours farther from the finish than when she started, and still completed the swim. • She was the first to swim the Strait of Magellan, the most treacherous three-mile stretch of water in the world. • The first to swim the Bering Strait—the channel that forms the boundary line between the United States and Russia—from Alaska to Siberia, thereby opening the U.S.-Soviet border for the first time in forty-eight years, swimming in thirty-eight-degree water in four-foot waves without a shark cage, wet suit, or lanolin grease. • The first to swim the Cape of Good Hope (a shark emerged from the kelp, its jaws wide open, and was shot as it headed straight for her). In this extraordinary book, the world’s most extraordinary distance swimmer writes about her emotional and spiritual need to swim and about the almost mystical act of swimming itself. Lynne Cox trained hard from age nine, working with an Olympic coach, swimming five to twelve miles each day in the Pacific. At age eleven, she swam even when hail made the water “like cold tapioca pudding” and was told she would one day swim the English Channel. Four years later—not yet out of high school—she broke the men’s and women’s world records for the Channel swim. In 1987, she swam the Bering Strait from America to the Soviet Union—a feat that, according to Gorbachev, helped diminish tensions between Russia and the United States. Lynne Cox’s relationship with the water is almost mystical: she describes swimming as flying, and remembers swimming at night through flocks of flying fish the size of mockingbirds, remembers being escorted by a pod of dolphins that came to her off New Zealand. She has a photographic memory of her swims. She tells us how she conceived of, planned, and trained for each, and re-creates for us the experience of swimming (almost) unswimmable bodies of water, including her most recent astonishing one-mile swim to Antarctica in thirty-two-degree water without a wet suit. She tells us how, through training and by taking advantage of her naturally plump physique, she is able to create more heat in the water than she loses. Lynne Cox has swum the Mediterranean, the three-mile Strait of Messina, under the ancient bridges of Kunning Lake, below the old summer palace of the emperor of China in Beijing. Breaking records no longer interests her. She writes about the ways in which these swims instead became vehicles for personal goals, how she sees herself as the lone swimmer among the waves, pitting her courage against the odds, drawn to dangerous places and treacherous waters that, since ancient times, have challenged sailors in ships. From the Hardcover edition.

newly Illustrated With Photos And Maps Throughout (format To Separate This Phrase From Copy)

here Is The Joyful, Inspirational Memoir Of Swimmer Lynne Cox. By Age Sixteen, She Had Broken All Records For English Channel Swims, So She Set Her Goals Even Higher: She Became The First To Swim The Strait Of Magellan, Narrowly Escaped A Shark Attack Off The Cape Of Good Hope, And Was Cheered Across The Twenty-mile Cook Strait Of New Zealand By Dolphins. Her Daring Eventually Led Her To The Thirty-eight-degree Waters Of The Bering Strait, Which She Crossed In Her Usual Outfit—just A Swimsuit, Cap, And Goggles. She Has Even Swum (lynn - Right Verb??) A Mile In The Iceberg-choked Waters Of The Antarctic. With A Poet's Eye For Detail, Cox Shares The Beauty Of Her Time In The Water In This New Classic Of Sports Memoir.

[cox Has] Done Things The Rest Of Us Only Imagine—and She's Written A Book That Helps Us To Imagine Them With Clarity And Wonder.—the Boston Globe

more Than The Story Of The Greatest Open-water Swimmer, Swimming To Antarctica Is A Portrait Of Rare And Relentless Drive. . . .gripping.—sports Illustrated

a Tale Of Remarkable Physical Prowess And Heart.—vogue

fetching And Pitch-perfect . . . Full Of Perilous, Preposterous-if-they-weren't-true Scenes. - Outside Magazine

an Instant Classic Of Adventure Writing.—minneapolis Star-tribune

the Only Things More Impressive Than Her Heroics Are Her Magnanimous Spirit And Ability To Bring People Together.—miami Herald

even A Cursory Read Leaves One Shivering For A Warm Towel.—entertainment Weekly

a Triumph Of A Positive Outlook, Hefty Preparation, And Raw Courage.—the Economist

so Compelling And Immediate That Even A Non-swimmer Can Almost Feel As If He'd Been A Participant.—philadelphia Inquirer

lynne Cox Has Set Records All Over The World For Open-water Swimming. She Was Named Los Angeles Times Woman Of The Year, Inducted Into The International Swimming Hall Of Fame In 2000, And Honored With A Lifetime Achievement Award From The University Of California—santa Barbara. She Lives In Los Alamitos, California.

publishers Weekly

cox, One Of The World's Leading Long-distance Swimmers, Has Been A Risk-taker Ever Since She Was Nine And Chose The Freezing Water Of A New Hampshire Pool In A Storm Over Getting Out And Doing Calisthenics. After Her Family Moved To California So She And Her Siblings Could Train As Speed Swimmers, She Discovered Long-distance Ocean Swimming. Her First Open-water Event, A Team Race Across The Catalina Channel, Convinced Her To Train For The English Channel. At 15, She Broke The Channel Record, And Decided She Needed A New Goal. Up To This Point, Cox's Story Reads Like A Fairy Tale Of Hard Work, Careful Planning And Good Support, Crowned With Success. It Isn't Until She Competes In The Nile River Swim That The Tale Turns Ugly-she's Swimming In Raw Sewage And Chemical Waste, Fending Off The Dead Rats And Broken Glass, So Sick With Dysentery She Lands In The Hospital. Undeterred, She Plans More Ambitious Swims-around The Shark-infested Cape Of Good Hope, Across Alaska's Glacier Bay-to Prepare For Her Big Dream, A Swim From Alaska To The Soviet Union Across The Bering Strait. While Offering Herself To Researchers Studying The Effects Of Cold On The Human Body, Her Political Goals Are Even Larger: To Bring Countries And Peoples Together, Using Swimming To Establish Bridges Between Borders. Cox Ends Her Story With Her Swim To Antarctica, Where She Finishes The First Antarctic Mile In 32-degree Water In 25 Minutes. Even Though Readers Know She Survived To Tell The Tale, It's A Thrilling, Awesome And Well-written Story. (jan.) Forecast: Knopf Plans Lots Of Media For This Inspirational Book, Including A Nine-city Author Tour, A Profile In Biography Magazine, An Appearance On Npr, Ads In Usa Today And Features In Women's, Sports And Travel Magazines. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Amazon.com Review Just about every other person in the world seems like an unfocused dilettante compared to long-distance swimming legend Lynne Cox. Soon At the age of 14, after several years of training hard in pools and the open sea, she was swimming the 26 mile stretch from Catalina Island to the coast of California. A year after that, she surpassed a lifelong goal by not only swimming the English Channel but setting a new men's and women's record in the process. Rather than be satisfied, Cox aimed still higher, conquering the Cook Strait in New Zealand, the Strait of Magellan and, the Cape of Good Hope, none of which had been swum before. Being the first to swim the Bering Sea from Alaska to what was then the Soviet Union is perhaps Cox's most impressive achievement, requiring a phenomenal amount of physical strength and endurance to withstand the chilly waters and diplomatic persistence to gain permission from Gorbachev during the Cold War. *Swimming to Antarctica* is Cox's remarkably detailed account of her major swims and all that went right and wrong with them. While there are plenty of highs, as one might expect in a memoir by so impressive an athlete, all is not sunshine and roses for Cox. She overcomes extreme physical hardship, predatory sharks, and a swim through a sewage-soaked Nile while suffering from dysentery. There is plenty in *Swimming to Antarctica* to encourage even non-swimmers to work hard to achieve the seemingly impossible, but Cox, a skilled and highly readable writer, sticks to the swimming, leading the reader by example. For thrills and inspiration, it's hard to find anyone better than Lynne Cox. *--John Moe* From Publishers Weekly Cox, one of the world's leading long-distance swimmers, has been a risk-taker ever since she was nine and chose the freezing water of a New Hampshire pool in a storm over getting out and doing calisthenics. After her family moved to California so she and her siblings could train as speed swimmers, she discovered long-distance ocean swimming. Her first open-water event, a team race across the Catalina Channel, convinced her to train for the English Channel. At 15, she broke the Channel record, and decided she needed a new goal. Up to this point, Cox's story reads like a fairy tale of hard work, careful planning and good support, crowned with success. It isn't until she competes in the Nile River swim that the tale turns ugly-she's swimming in raw sewage and chemical waste, fending off the dead rats and broken glass, so sick with dysentery she lands in the hospital. Undeterred, she plans more ambitious swims-around the shark-infested Cape of Good Hope, across Alaska's Glacier Bay-to prepare for her big dream, a swim from Alaska to the Soviet Union across the Bering Strait. While offering herself to researchers studying the effects of cold on the human body, her political goals are even larger: to bring countries and peoples together, using swimming "to establish bridges between borders." Cox ends her story with her swim to Antarctica, where she finishes the first Antarctic mile in 32-degree water in 25 minutes. Even though readers know she survived to tell the tale, it's a thrilling, awesome and well-written story. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Now in paperback, with photos and maps added especially for this new edition, here is the acclaimed life story of a woman whose drive and determination inspire everyone she touches. Lynne Cox started swimming almost as soon as she could walk. By age sixteen, she had broken all records for swimming the English Channel. Her daring eventually led her to the Bering Strait, where she swam five miles in thirty-eight-degree water in just a swimsuit, cap, and goggles. In between those accomplishments, she became the first to swim the Strait of Magellan, narrowly escaped a shark attack off the Cape of Good Hope, and was cheered across the twenty-mile Cook Strait of New Zealand by dolphins. She even swam a mile in the Antarctic. Lynne writes the same way she swims, with indefatigable spirit and joy, and shares the beauty of her time in the water with a poet's eye for detail. She has accomplished yet another feat--writing a new classic of sports memoir. Here is the joyful, inspirational memoir of swimmer Lynne Cox. By age sixteen, she had broken all records for English Channel swims, so she set her goals even higher: She became the first to swim the Strait of Magellan, narrowly escaped a shark attack off the Cape of Good Hope, and was cheered across the twenty-mile Cook Strait of New Zealand by dolphins. Her daring eventually led her to the thirty-eight-degree waters of the Bering Strait, which she crossed in her usual outfit -- just a swimsuit, cap, and goggles. She has even swum a mile in the iceberg-choked waters of the Antarctic. With a poet's eye for detail, Cox shares the beauty of her time in the water in this new classic of sports memoir A noted long-distance swimmer with a love for cold water describes her record-breaking English Channel crossing, her 1987 swim across the Bering Strait, and exploits in the Straits of Magellan, Lake Baikal, and Antarctica.