Beneath the Surface, by Michael Phelps
I thought it was interesting to hear Michael Phelps’ story. I enjoyed to hear about his family, his back injury, how he promoted the sport of swimming, and his DUI. However, he is not a writer. He told lots of stories about food, playing pranks on his coach, and improving his swim times. Although it’s humbling to read about his interval times, it was boring to repetitively read about his splits and hear his race day play-by-plays. For a swimmer more dedicated than me, it might be interesting. But to me, the book was mediocre. It was easy to read, but it lacked the deeper content that I expected. For a book titled, “Beneath the Surface,” I expected to read more about the thoughts and feelings hidden beneath Michael’s outward appearance. I wanted to read about his struggles and insecurities, and how he overcame those things. Instead, I read about his swim times and how they improved. I don’t feel like the book actually went much “beneath the surface.”