With firsthand knowledge, diligent research, and colorful prose, Valosik provides an engaging, energetic history.
The long path to female equality has involved many byways, and one of them has been in the pool.
Valosik is editorial director at Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service, and she is also a masters synchronized swimmer, so she is well situated to tell the story of women swimmers from the late 19th century to the present. Swimming for women first became popular in Britain in the mid-late 1800s, and several women became famous in vaudeville acts. Some moved to the U.S. and attracted huge crowds. An Australian woman called Annette Kellerman became famous for acrobatic swimming but was also a strong voice in the drive for equal rights. There were popular group performances in the string of world fairs in the 1930s, although the key evolutionary step was adding music, which set synchronized swimming apart from other forms. Many male commentators were dismissive, partly because they did not understand the demands of it and partly out of straightforward sexism. However, as the author shows, Hollywood saw the potential, especially with the emergence of Esther Williams, a former swimming champion. She invented many of the crucial moves, and the aqua-ballet movies in which she starred became more and more spectacular. Williams, hugely popular in her heyday, demonstrated the capability of women, a critical issue when most women were confined to the home. Synchronized swimming was finally acknowledged as an Olympic sport in 1984 (the publication of this book marks its 40th anniversary). Valosik notes that the sport has recently become even more difficult, requiring feats that are increasingly complex and dangerous. Throughout this fascinating narrative, the author emphasizes the necessary blend of physicality, creativity, and grace, making readers want to pay special attention to the sport in the forthcoming Paris Olympics.
With firsthand knowledge, diligent research, and colorful prose, Valosik provides an engaging, energetic history.Pub Date: June 25, 2024
ISBN: 9781324093046
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Liveright/Norton
Review Posted Online: March 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.
Greed, depravity, and serial murder in 1920s Oklahoma.
During that time, enrolled members of the Osage Indian nation were among the wealthiest people per capita in the world. The rich oil fields beneath their reservation brought millions of dollars into the tribe annually, distributed to tribal members holding "headrights" that could not be bought or sold but only inherited. This vast wealth attracted the attention of unscrupulous whites who found ways to divert it to themselves by marrying Osage women or by having Osage declared legally incompetent so the whites could fleece them through the administration of their estates. For some, however, these deceptive tactics were not enough, and a plague of violent death—by shooting, poison, orchestrated automobile accident, and bombing—began to decimate the Osage in what they came to call the "Reign of Terror." Corrupt and incompetent law enforcement and judicial systems ensured that the perpetrators were never found or punished until the young J. Edgar Hoover saw cracking these cases as a means of burnishing the reputation of the newly professionalized FBI. Bestselling New Yorkerstaff writer Grann (The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession, 2010, etc.) follows Special Agent Tom White and his assistants as they track the killers of one extended Osage family through a closed local culture of greed, bigotry, and lies in pursuit of protection for the survivors and justice for the dead. But he doesn't stop there; relying almost entirely on primary and unpublished sources, the author goes on to expose a web of conspiracy and corruption that extended far wider than even the FBI ever suspected. This page-turner surges forward with the pacing of a true-crime thriller, elevated by Grann's crisp and evocative prose and enhanced by dozens of period photographs.
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.Pub Date: April 18, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-385-53424-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
“Protect your passion,” writes an NBA star in this winning exploration of how we can succeed in life.
A future basketball Hall of Famer’s rosy outlook.
Curry is that rare athlete who looks like he gets joy from what he does. There’s no doubt that the Golden State Warriors point guard is a competitor—he’s led his team to four championships—but he plays the game with nonchalance and exuberance. That ease, he says, “only comes from discipline.” He practices hard enough—he’s altered the sport by mastering the three-point shot—so that he achieves a “kind of freedom.” In that “flow state,” he says, “I can let joy and creativity take over. I block out all distractions, even the person guarding me. He can wave his arms and call me every name in the book, but I just smile and wait as the solution to the problem—how to get the ball into the basket—presents itself.” Curry shares this approach to his craft in a stylish collection that mixes life lessons with sharp photographs and archival images. His dad, Dell, played in the NBA for 16 years, and Curry learned much from his father and mother: “My parents were extremely strict about me and my little brother Seth not going to my pops’s games on school nights.” Curry’s mother, Sonya, who founded the Montessori elementary school that Curry attended in North Carolina, emphasized the importance not just of learning but of playing. Her influence helped Curry and his wife, Ayesha, create a nonprofit foundation: Eat. Learn. Play. He writes that “making reading fun is the key to unlocking a kid’s ability to be successful in their academic journeys.” The book also has valuable pointers for ballers—and those hoping to hit the court. “Plant those arches—knees bent behind those 10 toes pointing at the hoop, hips squared with your shoulders—and draw your power up so you explode off the ground and rise into your shot.” Sounds easy, right?
“Protect your passion,” writes an NBA star in this winning exploration of how we can succeed in life.Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9780593597293
Page Count: 432
Publisher: One World/Random House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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