Young Woman and the Sea

Starred review from April 27, 2009
In 1926, 18-year-old Trudy Ederle fascinated and inspired millions around the world when she became the first woman successfully to swim the English Channel. With great storytelling, sportswriter Stout (series editor of The Best American Sports Writing
) chronicles Ederle's singular accomplishment and its significance for the future of women in sports as well as the tremendous challenges for any swimmer who would dare traverse the waves of the channel. At age five, Ederle (1908–2003) suffered permanent hearing loss, which made her reticent and shy; at age 10 her father taught her to swim. The ocean opened to her like another world, and she loved the feeling of floating and swimming in its vastness. After lessons at the Women's Swimming Association, Ederle developed her gift and emerged as one of America's fastest swimmers, earning a spot in the 1924 Olympics. Disappointed by winning only a bronze medal, she quickly turned to the challenge of swimming the English Channel—difficult due to its strong tides, winds and currents—and after an initial failure, Ederle conquered the channel on August 6, 1926. Stout's moving book recovers the exhilarating story of a young girl who found her true self out in the water and paved the way for women in sports today.

July 15, 2009
The Best American Sports Writing series editor offers a history of the first woman to swim the English Channel.

In the era of Michael Phelps, it's easy to forget that 100 years ago the sport of swimming was essentially nonexistent. Considered a necessary skill in ancient Greek and Roman civilizations, swimming eventually became a sport of the elite. Everything changed, however, in the early 1900s when a fatal fire broke out on a steamship in New York Harbor, leaving more than 1,000 people dead as they jumped overboard and drowned in shallow waters. Almost immediately, swimming societies began to spring up across the country to quell the palpable public outrage. Among those newly enrolled in lessons was Gertrude Ederle, a young woman who sought solace in the water to counter the progressive deafness brought on by an early bout of measles. Ederle became dominant in the newly emerging sport, equally at ease swimming sprints or long distances. After winning one gold and two bronze medals in a disappointing 1924 Olympic showing, she turned her efforts to crossing the English Channel. Stout (The Dodgers: 120 Years of Dodgers Baseball, 2004, etc.) adeptly traces the history of swimming and Ederle's significance in it. Whether recounting the origins of modern strokes or the geological formation of the English Channel, the author is comprehensive in his research. His blow-by-blow accounts of Ederle's two attempts to cross from Dover, England, to Cape Gris-Nez, France, demonstrate his engaging style. Stout is also a strong finisher—the second half of the book, saturated with thrills and melodrama, is far superior to the first.

A compelling account of a woman who, though long forgotten, changed the way the world viewed swimming. Not quite equal in historical scope to Gavin Mortimer's The Great Swim (2008), but more colorful than Tim Dahlberg's America's Girl (2009).

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

May 1, 2009
Trudy Ederle, who died in 2003 at age 98, was the first woman to swim the English Channel, in 1926. For several years, her fame had been uproarious, her achievement thought earth-shattering. She enjoyed New York's biggest ticker tape parade, had her own swimsuit line, and had Americans rethinking women's athletic capabilities. After a semisuccessful vaudeville tour, her career declined; she turned to giving children swimming lessons and, later, selling dresses in a shop. Although the shy and hard-of-hearing Ederle failed to cash in on her fame, she felt satisfied with her career and resented those who deemed her ultimate anonymity a tragedy. These two biographies help readers understand the age of "ballyhoo" and "wonderful nonsense," as Stout cites sportswriter Westbrook Pegler referring to the Twenties. Sportswriter Dahlberg ("Fight Town: Las Vegasthe Boxing Capital of the World") had access to Ederle's diary and unpublished memoir, but both writers were able to re-create vividly the dramatic events, largely from published reporting and interviews. The writers emphasize different aspects of the story: Dahlberg discusses topics like the revolution in women's swimsuits and the German American community and devotes nearly half his book to Ederle's post-swim life and career. Stout, who has edited "The Best American Sports Writing" annually, delves into the history of U.S. swimming, how geology shaped the fearsome tides and currents in the channel, and Ederle's failed first attempt. Still, they both employ the same approach: a popular social history that brings to life a woman, her era, and her remarkable feat. Both books make for very entertaining reading, with Stout's given a slight edge for more picturesque writing. Although neither book uses rigorous scholarly footnoting, either is recommended for all scholarly as well as public libraries. (Dahlberg photos not seen.)Kathy Ruffle, Coll. of New Caledonia Lib., Prince George, B.C.

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2009
Gertrude Trudy Ederle was once the worlds most famous female athlete. In a 1920s version of the 24-hour cable-news cycle, her flame burned bright but briefly after she became the first woman to swim the English Channel in 1926. Stout, author or editor of nearly a dozen sports-related books, came across Ederles story and was intrigued that he hadnt heard of her. A New Yorker, she was the greatest female swimmer in the world from 1922 to 1925, setting a dozen world records and and winning Olympic gold. Swimming the Channel was her last great challenge, and she succeeded in 1926. Amazingly, though the world was enthralled by her achievement, she was unable to capitalize financially and quickly faded from public view. Stouts focus is on her youth, her involvement in the nascent world of female athletics, and her training for the Channel swim. Though her accomplishments are stunning, Ederle proves something of a bland subject. Fortunately, Stout provides the period contextespecially related to the media of the dayto give her story vibrancy. A surprisingly involving biography of a forgotten sports pioneer.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)