author
James H. Sterrett
Best known for a practical early-20th-century guide to swimming, this writer approached the water with the eye of a coach and teacher. The result is a clear, hands-on book filled with technique, drills, and advice meant to help beginners and stronger swimmers alike.
1 Audiobook
About the author
James H. Sterrett is known for How to Swim, a practical manual published in the Spalding athletic handbook series and preserved by Project Gutenberg and library catalogs. The book presents swimming as a skill that can be learned step by step, with instruction on strokes, diving, floating, and lifesaving.
From the book itself, Sterrett is presented as an organizer of the first American swimming club, an authority on swimming, and a successful amateur coach. Whether every promotional claim can be independently verified today or not, the manual clearly shows a teacher focused on making swimming more approachable and systematic for everyday readers.
His surviving reputation rests mainly on this instructional work rather than on a large body of published books. For listeners interested in the history of sport, physical culture, or practical how-to writing, Sterrett offers a snapshot of how swimming was taught in the early 1900s.