Fun and fascinating history of swimming spectacles and women's roles in them, from live performance to movies

A really delightful history of synchronized swimming (or, as it is now termed, "artistic swimming") which begins with Benjamin Franklin's experiments in swimming and continues through to the present day. Of necessity it's as much a history of swimmers as it is of synchronized swimming, and Valosik spends a ton of time in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as women fought to be allowed to swim at all - somehow it's not easy to disport oneself gracefully in water when wearing an ankle-length wool outfit "for modesty." Valosik clearly did a ton of research, pulling together information on early Victorian "water queens" (women who made a living paddling around in tanks of water for the delectation of viewers), early women speed and distance swimmers, women divers, women's fight to get physical education approved in colleges, etc., and her writing is easy to follow and engaging.

Personally, I haven't been a swimmer since my high school days, but watching the last Olympics I was mesmerized by the artistic swimmers: talk about "backwards and in high heels" - "rhythmic gymnastics mostly underwater" takes athletic challenge to a whole new level. Valosik writes with an appreciation for what the sport requires and what it took for the men and women whose history she chronicles to move it forward as a sport and a recreational activity both.

I really enjoyed reading this book, i thought it worked well as a history of the swimming sport. I was engaged with what I was reading and thought the concept worked well. It had that research element that I wanted and enjoyed learning about my favorite sport. Vicki Valosik does a great job in writing this and was educational.

Swimming Pretty: The Untold Story of Women in Water by Vicki Valosik is a thorough and detailed exploration and history of female swimmers and their challenges and achievements.