The Great Swim
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Randye Kaye
-
By:
-
Gavin Mortimer
About this listen
The dramatic story of the four courageous female swimmers who captivated the world in the summer of 1926.
Despite the tensions of a world still recovering from World War I, during the summer of 1926, the story that enthralled the public revolved around four young American swimmers - Gertrude Ederle, Mille Gade, Lillian Cannon, and Clarabelle Barrett - who battled the weather, each other, and considerable odds to become the first woman to conquer the brutal waters of the English Channel.
The popular East Coast tabloids from New York to Boston engaged in rivalries nearly as competitive as the swimmers themselves; each backed a favorite and made certain their girl - in bathing attire - was plastered across their daily editions. Just as Seabiscuit, the little horse with the big heart, would bring the nation to a near standstill when he battled his rival War Admiral in 1938, this quartet of women held the attention of millions of people on both sides of the Atlantic for an entire summer.
Gavin Mortimer uses primary sources, diaries, interviews with relatives, and contemporary reports to paint an unforgettable portrait of a competition that changed the way the world looked at women, both in sport and society. More than an underdog story, The Great Swim is a tale of perseverance, strength, and sheer force of will. A portrait of an era that is as evocative as Cinderella Man, this is a memorable story of America and Americans in the 1920s.
©2008 Gavin Mortimer (P)2012 Audible, Inc.Related to this topic
-
From Lukov with Love
- By: Mariana Zapata
- Narrated by: Callie Dalton, Teddy Hamilton
- Length: 14 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If someone were to ask Jasmine Santos to describe the last few years of her life with a single word, it would definitely be a four-letter one. After 17 years - and countless broken bones and broken promises - she knows her window to compete in figure skating is coming to a close. But when the offer of a lifetime comes in from an arrogant idiot she's spent the last decade dreaming about pushing in the way of a moving bus, Jasmine might have to reconsider everything.
-
-
New Favorite MZ Slow Burn
- By Brittany M on 05-13-18
By: Mariana Zapata
-
The Complete Book of Five Rings
- By: Miyamoto Musashi, Kenji Tokitsu - editor/translator
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii
- Length: 5 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Complete Book of Five Rings is an authoritative version of Musashi's classic The Book of Five Rings, translated and annotated by a modern martial arts master, Kenji Tokitsu. Tokitsu has spent most of his life researching the legendary samurai swordsman and his works, and in this book he illuminates this seminal text, along with several other works by Musashi.
-
-
Best translation I have encountered.
- By DW on 05-27-16
By: Miyamoto Musashi, and others
-
Bigger Leaner Stronger
- The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Male Body
- By: Michael Matthews
- Narrated by: Michael Matthews
- Length: 14 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The bestselling fitness book for men who want to gain 25-35 pounds of lean muscle and lose as much fat or more in just 3-5 hours per week—and without giving up delicious foods or doing grueling workouts. Is Bigger Leaner Stronger a body building book that can help you pack on brain-shrinking amounts of muscle in 30 days flat? No. Is it a fitness nutrition book full of dubious diet and exercise “hacks” and “shortcuts” for melting belly fat faster than a roided hornet? Absolutely not.
-
-
Narration sounds like a Robot
- By pauly on 07-04-19
By: Michael Matthews
-
The Little Black Book of Workout Motivation
- By: Michael Matthews
- Narrated by: Michael Matthews
- Length: 5 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The bestselling fitness and self-improvement book for breaking through mental resistance and barriers, building unshakeable discipline, and keeping your goals alive when things get tough.
-
-
Diamond in the rough
- By Mike on 09-03-18
By: Michael Matthews
-
Barbarian Days
- A Surfing Life
- By: William Finnegan
- Narrated by: William Finnegan
- Length: 18 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Pulitzer Prize, Biography, 2016. Barbarian Days is William Finnegan's memoir of an obsession, a complex enchantment. Surfing only looks like a sport. To initiates it is something else entirely: a beautiful addiction, a demanding course of study, a morally dangerous pastime, a way of life.
-
-
What a Jerk.
- By ML Sadler on 03-06-17
By: William Finnegan
-
Thinner Leaner Stronger
- The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Female Body
- By: Michael Matthews
- Narrated by: Elliott Denkers
- Length: 13 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The bestselling fitness book for women who want to lose up to 35 pounds of fat or more and gain whole-body muscle definition in just 3-5 hours per week—and without giving up delicious foods or doing grueling workouts.
-
-
"The Ultimate Female Body", but uses male examples
- By bookWorm on 06-29-15
By: Michael Matthews
-
From Lukov with Love
- By: Mariana Zapata
- Narrated by: Callie Dalton, Teddy Hamilton
- Length: 14 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If someone were to ask Jasmine Santos to describe the last few years of her life with a single word, it would definitely be a four-letter one. After 17 years - and countless broken bones and broken promises - she knows her window to compete in figure skating is coming to a close. But when the offer of a lifetime comes in from an arrogant idiot she's spent the last decade dreaming about pushing in the way of a moving bus, Jasmine might have to reconsider everything.
-
-
New Favorite MZ Slow Burn
- By Brittany M on 05-13-18
By: Mariana Zapata
-
The Complete Book of Five Rings
- By: Miyamoto Musashi, Kenji Tokitsu - editor/translator
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii
- Length: 5 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Complete Book of Five Rings is an authoritative version of Musashi's classic The Book of Five Rings, translated and annotated by a modern martial arts master, Kenji Tokitsu. Tokitsu has spent most of his life researching the legendary samurai swordsman and his works, and in this book he illuminates this seminal text, along with several other works by Musashi.
-
-
Best translation I have encountered.
- By DW on 05-27-16
By: Miyamoto Musashi, and others
-
Bigger Leaner Stronger
- The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Male Body
- By: Michael Matthews
- Narrated by: Michael Matthews
- Length: 14 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The bestselling fitness book for men who want to gain 25-35 pounds of lean muscle and lose as much fat or more in just 3-5 hours per week—and without giving up delicious foods or doing grueling workouts. Is Bigger Leaner Stronger a body building book that can help you pack on brain-shrinking amounts of muscle in 30 days flat? No. Is it a fitness nutrition book full of dubious diet and exercise “hacks” and “shortcuts” for melting belly fat faster than a roided hornet? Absolutely not.
-
-
Narration sounds like a Robot
- By pauly on 07-04-19
By: Michael Matthews
-
The Little Black Book of Workout Motivation
- By: Michael Matthews
- Narrated by: Michael Matthews
- Length: 5 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The bestselling fitness and self-improvement book for breaking through mental resistance and barriers, building unshakeable discipline, and keeping your goals alive when things get tough.
-
-
Diamond in the rough
- By Mike on 09-03-18
By: Michael Matthews
-
Barbarian Days
- A Surfing Life
- By: William Finnegan
- Narrated by: William Finnegan
- Length: 18 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Pulitzer Prize, Biography, 2016. Barbarian Days is William Finnegan's memoir of an obsession, a complex enchantment. Surfing only looks like a sport. To initiates it is something else entirely: a beautiful addiction, a demanding course of study, a morally dangerous pastime, a way of life.
-
-
What a Jerk.
- By ML Sadler on 03-06-17
By: William Finnegan
-
Thinner Leaner Stronger
- The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Female Body
- By: Michael Matthews
- Narrated by: Elliott Denkers
- Length: 13 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The bestselling fitness book for women who want to lose up to 35 pounds of fat or more and gain whole-body muscle definition in just 3-5 hours per week—and without giving up delicious foods or doing grueling workouts.
-
-
"The Ultimate Female Body", but uses male examples
- By bookWorm on 06-29-15
By: Michael Matthews
What listeners say about The Great Swim
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- D. Littman
- 03-24-13
terrific, slice of history book
Would you consider the audio edition of The Great Swim to be better than the print version?
The audio edition is very entertaining & moves well. Excellent narrator. This is not the kind of book that has to be read in the traditional way, no crying need for referring to maps or photographs to follow along.
What did you like best about this story?
The author focuses on several women who were trying the be the first to swim the channel that summer, not just Gertrude Ederle, who was the one who did it first.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful