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The Crossing : The Curious Story of the First Man to Swim the English Channel
The Crossing The Curious Story of the First Man to Swim the English Channel
Author: Kathy Watson
"An affectionate, acutely observed life of Webb that brings his achievement into sharp focus after more than a century of neglect." (Sunday Times, London) — Swimming the English Channel was once thought to be a feat as impossible as reaching the summit of Everest, flying through the air in a plane, or walking on the moon. But in August 187...  more »
ISBN-13: 9781585421091
ISBN-10: 158542109X
Publication Date: 9/10/2001
Pages: 288
Rating:
  • Currently 3/5 Stars.
 4

3 stars, based on 4 ratings
Publisher: Tarcher
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed The Crossing : The Curious Story of the First Man to Swim the English Channel on
Helpful Score: 1
The story of Matthew Webb is fascinating and makes a wonderful subject for a book of this length. I do take issue, however, with some of the author's artistic choices.

The book starts slow. It took me two or three tries to read all the way through, and I skimmed most of the first two chapters. I feel that the information regarding Webb's birth, childhood, and upbringing were given too much time in the scope of the story. It's not necessary to know the details of Webb's early years to tell the story of his crossing of the English Channel, and to start the book out with these less-than-interesting minutiae bogs down the pacing early on.

The choice to approach the story as a tragedy was a good one, although I think the author was overly sympathetic to Webb's point of view. There are moments in the book when Watson's speculations (about details of an event, for example) seem overly romanticized, to the point of being hard to believe. Especially towards the end (as Webb devolves), I feel the author removes Webb's culpability for his own poor choices. Not that I necessarily wish to stand in judgment of someone who accomplished a truly fantastic feat; but I would appreciate a more balanced look at the facts.

All-in-all, I would have preferred more information about the swimming, especially the state of swimming in England at the time. I feel this would have provided better context for the significance of Webb's swimming of the English Channel. Because, after all, The Crossing is what this book is all about.
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weekendreader avatar reviewed The Crossing : The Curious Story of the First Man to Swim the English Channel on + 9 more book reviews
I found this book very interesting. A glimpse into the life of someone with a dream and all the work it takes to reach your dreams.
bubblebee avatar reviewed The Crossing : The Curious Story of the First Man to Swim the English Channel on + 49 more book reviews
The Glorious Tragedy of The First Man To Swim The English Channel

Who was this hero, this demigod? The object of Swinburne's homage was Captain Matthew Webb, a short, stocky sailor, who in August 1875, became the first man to swim the English Channel. Feted and adored, praised and imitated for a while he was one of the most famous men in the world.

Webb's gallant twenty-two-hour endeavor popularized the sport of swimming and was the highlight of his life, but it was also the beginning of his ruin. Wearing a ten-pound bathing suit and fueled by eggs and bacon washed down with beer, brandy, and claret, he accomplished the aquatic equivalent of summiting Mount Everest â" then succumbed to an addiction to applause that led to the final act in his tragedy: a crazed attempt to swim the Niagara River below the Falls.

This is the story of Webb, a man who achieved his dream but didn't know what to do with it. Lionized by the press as âhalf man, half fish,â he lived a life of adventure, offering himself to the crowd again and again, surrounded by a colorful array of sportsmen, stuntmen, and gamblers.

Through his story, we glimpse a slice of Victorian society, a lusty, flamboyant, gas lit underworld showmanship and shady deals, of eccentricity flying in the face of reason.

A fast-moving tale of triumph and folly, The Crossing is an exquisite portrait of a larger-than-life daredevil who fell victim to his own success.


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