Boomerang Books Info Bank

Nations become most attached to those sports and Olympic events in which they are most successful. This is how Mike Colman explains Australia’s fascination with a 30-lap swimming race—the men’s 1500 metres. Rather than writing a biography of one of the current crop of swimming stars, his book opts to tell the story of how Australia came to be the most successful country in this Olympic discipline from 1908 to the present day. The material is thoroughly researched and lovingly arranged. Demonstrating his journalistic background, Colman is never short of an anecdote, as he intersperses historical fact with swimming folklore. With a July publication date, the book is presumably seeking to capitalise upon the massive spike in interest among the general public in swimming during the Olympic Games. And yet, it may not be ideally placed to do so. Even though it is the Kieren Perkins/Grant Hackett era which receives most attention here, the historical, event-specific approach may limit its potential audience. At one point Colman quotes Perkins on Australian society’s increasing compulsion to turn its sporting heroes into celebrities. The question mark hanging over his very readable sports book is whether it will prosper, having eschewed that very celebrity appeal.