When not in the water or with my family or at work, I'm usually reading. Below are some books that have inspired me along my journey to Swim the Channel.
The World's Fittest Book
by Ross Edgley
Ross Edgley is one of the most phenomenal athlete's alive. He takes extreme sports and makes them even more extreme. To name just a few: he swam around Britain, did a Triathlon with a 100 pound log on his back, climbed rope the length of Mount Everest, and ran a marathon pulling a Mini Cooper. This book provides some insight on how he accomplished some of these feats, as well as his diet regimen during his training. A great read for anyone interested in doing extreme sports.
Endurance
by Alfred Lansing
This book should be required reading for all high school students. This book was written sixty years ago and tells the amazing true story of the failure of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition in 1914. This book recounts with fantastic detail the ordeal and the struggles the 28 man crew went through as they tried to stay alive and back to civilization. It also highlights the brilliant leadership skills of the expeditions now famed leader, Ernest Shackleton. This book is a great story of perseverance and resilience under extraordinary circumstances.
Rocket Men
by Robert Kurson
A gripping account about the planning and execution of the Apollo 8 mission to the moon. Astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders truly went where no one had gone before and were the first people to successfully reach the moon and orbit it. A great inspiration for anyone trying to do the unthinkable.
Wooden
by John Wooden and Steve Jamison
What can I say? Wooden was a great leader who knew how to push his players to perform their absolute best. This book provides his philosophy on how to live the best life as well as other little tidbits about his storied career.