By Mary Knudstrup, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main
Lynne Cox has spent a lifetime breaking records in the water; at 15, she shattered the men’s and women’s world records swimming the English Channel; at 17, she broke the world record for the Catalina Channel; the next year she became the first woman to swim the Cook Strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. She has swum the treacherous Strait of Magellan, the shark-invested waters around the Cape of Good Hope, and the frigid passage across the Bering Strait as a way of opening the borders between the Soviet Union and the United States.
But this book is no mere recitation of accomplished feats. Cox writes with the heart and ease of a true storyteller, taking the reader along on each incredible crossing, whether it’s riding in the slipstream of dolphins or dodging sewage in the Nile River. Her love of the water and the sheer joy she experiences when swimming reveals itself over and over.
“I felt as if I were swimming through a black-and-white photograph of the sea at night. And in the phosphorescent ocean . . . silvery bubbles rolled out of my mouth, and as my arms churned the water, they etched a trail of white iridescent light across the shimmering black sea.”
However, it isn’t just her infectious enthusiasm for swimming that captures the reader. Cox’s story is one of overcoming obstacles with amazing patience, determination and good humor. She admits to fear and exhaustion but doesn’t let it defeat her. She warmly gives credit to the individuals and teams that assist her in accomplishing each goal.
No longer concerned with breaking records, she has turned her attention to using her talent to quietly foster good-will between countries. Whether it’s jumping from a wind-tossed boat, approaching a Soviet diplomat for permission to swim to Russian soil, or navigating her way through icebergs, her perseverance and can-do attitude is ever present.
Swimming to Antarctica is a great adventure story to add to your reading list.
