America's Girl: The Incredible Story of How Swimmer Gertrude Ederle Changed the Nation

by Tim Dahlberg, Mary Ederle Ward, Brenda Greene, et al.

Gertrude Ederle won a gold medal at the 1924 Olympics, but she really grabbed attention two years later when she became not only the first woman to swim the English Channel, but beat the times of all five men who had previously performed this feat. An icon of her time, Gertrude showed how women needn't come second.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312382650
• ISBN13: 9780312382650
• Release Date: August 2009
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 294 Pages
• Weight: 1.26 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

An entertaining and enlightening book

In 1926 German-American Gertrude Ederle won the spotlight for women when she did what some said that no woman would ever do - swim across the English Channel. This lively book looks at Ms. Ederle, her life and her times, focusing primarily on her 1926 swim. This book is part of a fairly common modern genre - books that take a subject, large or small, and while discussing that subject use it as a springboard to talk about a wide range of tangential subjects. In this case, the story of Gertrude Ederle is discussed in a workmanlike manner, and along the way the reader is treated to discussions of the position of women in the 1920s, the loosening or dress codes for both men and women at that time, the history of people swimming across the channel, and so much more. It's rather an entertaining and enlightening book, one that discusses an interesting era of change.

An American Hero

I have always known the name Gertrude Ederle and that she was the first woman to swim the channel. This book gave me great insight into the life of Gertrude Ederle and the challenges faced when trying to accomplish the extraordinary. Additionally,this book transposed me to an era where sportsmanship and determination were more important than winning. The book did a great job detailing her life and the challenges she faced. I felt like I was part of the family. I loved the old photos included in this book, I wished they had included more! This book is definitely worth reading. You will love it!

Not A Swimmer

I am not a sports fan by any stretch of the imagination so reading about some swimmer would not have raised an eyebrow at all. What did begin to raise my eyebrows was this magnificent story. If you can equate the times in which it happened then this feat is somewhat analogous to going to the moon (BTW I was at John Glenn's ticker tape parade in NYC as about an eight year old boy and in the ensuing congestion my foot was caught under a wooden barricade and I was taken to the hospital). In the Roaring Twenties the English Channel was the moon! The reading is fast paced, lucid and historically accurate as this is a very well documented exploit. I couldn't put the book down.

Swimmer's Year

I bought this book expecting to read about Gertrude Ederle, who I vaguely remembered as being the woman who swam the English Channel. And it delivers, telling her life story in great detail and bringing her to life as a woman who pushed all obstacles out of her way to do what no woman had ever done _ and beat the men while doing it. The bonus of this book, though, is that it also tells the story of the times when Americans thought anything was possible. The Roaring 20s were unlike any other time and this is really a look into the era as well. The author uses liberally newspaper accounts of the time that allow the reader to really feel like he knows the times. Who could imagine something like what happened in 1926 happening today, but its easy to see why it happened then. America was overjoyed at its hero, and she got the biggest tickertape parade ever given an athlete in New York's Canyon of Heroes. Just as important, she was seen as advancing the cause of women everywhere, just a few years after they had gotten the right to vote. Some funny stories in here, too, including the New York tabloids fighting over her, and her father betting big money on her to make the swim. All in all a fascinating read.