The Crossing: The Glorious Tragedy of the First Man to Swim the English Channel"Matthew 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 - 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 "half man, half fish," he lived a life of adventure, offering himself to the crowd again and again, surrounded by a colorful array of sportsmen, stuntmen, and gamblers."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved |
Contents
Half Man Half Fish | 1 |
A Shropshire Lad | 11 |
Hard Biscuits and Hammocks | 36 |
Copyright | |
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The Crossing: The Curious Story of the First Man to Swim the English Channel Kathy Watson No preview available - 2000 |
Common terms and phrases
Alison Streeter arms ashore attempt Beckwith beef tea body boys brandy bridge buoy Calais called Cap Gris Nez Captain Matthew Webb Captain Webb Cavill champion Channel swim Channel swimmer cheers climbed Coalbrookdale cold Conway crew crossing crowd death dive doctor Dover dressed drowned England English Channel feat feet Frank Buckland friends gave half head hero knew Kyle Lambeth Baths later legs lifesaving living London long-distance swims looked lugger Madeleine Manhattan Beach Matthew Webb McCloy medal Merchant Service Merriman miles ming minutes Nantasket Beach never newspaper Niagara o'clock Old Jack once paddle Paul Boyton Payne pilot race referee river River Severn Robert Watson sail sailor seemed Severn ship shore Shropshire sport steamer story stroke swim the Channel swum thought tide told took turned waiting wanted watching waves Webb swam Webb's whirlpool Willie Beckwith wrote