Scarecrow Press has initiated a new series, Historical Dictionaries of Sports. The first title in the series is Historical Dictionary of Competitive Swimming (next up are basketball and golf). Author Lohn comes with the necessary credentials: he is the senior writer for Swimming World Magazine. Competitive swimming is examined through an introductory essay, a chronology that begins in 1875 with Matthew Webb's swim across the English Channel and ends with the thirteenth world championships in 2009, and a chronology of the career of Michael Phelps. The main part of the volume, the dictionary, has 500 cross-referenced entries that cover individuals, competitions, the competitive swimming strokes, and various countries that have been competitive in the sport. Twenty-one appendixes cover topics such as world-championship winners and Olympic medalists. The resource ends with a 5-page topical bibliography. Libraries with large sports collections or where competitive swimming is important for their communities will want to add this resource.

Booklist

This inaugural volume in Scarecrow Press' sports reference series provides a glimpse of competitive swimming's rapid evolution. In his opening chronology, Lohn (coauthor, Swimmers: Courage and Triumph) locates his subject's genesis not in ancient Olympic Games, but in the 1875 English Channel crossing....Alphabetically organized, brief entries profile the people, organizations, championships, and locations defining competitive swimming. A series of appendixes detailing competitions, finalist names, and medals rounds out the book. A handy who's who for aquatic sports collections.

Library Journal

The dictionary...has its merits in bringing all the factual information together in one place.

Reference Reviews