Read my full review: https://www.mwgerard.com/review-swimming-pretty/

When I stop to think about it, it’s somewhat surprising how much I have crossed paths with artistic swimming. Aside from the chance viewing of an Esther Williams musical, I live in a neighborhood with multiple Esther Williams pools. There is even a newspaper article with her posing on their diving board. When the neighbor was having it remodeled, I went and gathered the original turquoise tiles. I made a mosaic top table and have dozens more under plants or leveling uneven tables.

As a kid, I learned to swim in a neighbor’s pool (different neighborhood). That family’s matriarch gave swimming lessons to children but she was also my gymnastics coach. When I got a bit older, I took lessons at the local YMCA to learn the various strokes and pass official testing levels. I never felt scared of the water, always secure in the fact that I could swim, or at least float, if not win any races. It’s easy to forget that a century ago basic swimming skills were rare in the general populous, and practically nonexistent for women.

Swimming Pretty is not just a book about what we now know as synchronized swimming. It follows the throughline of women earning the right to be swimmers at all — recreationally and competitively. From aquacade stunt shows to endurance swims across the English Channel, these swimmers showed their strength and determination in and out of the water.