Media Coverage of Author, Historian Bill George and his “Victory in the Pool” Book
KCRA – “This is the book I wish I’d written.” That’s how Deirdre Fitzpatrick, who has covered nine Olympics, began the interview with Bill George. You can listen to this fascinating conversation right here!
ABC 10 Video Clip of author Bill George, Jeff Float, Debbie Meyer at a book signing event for the new book, “Victory in the Pool.”
PBS/KVIE Season 13 Episode – hear from Sacramento author Bill George about his new book. Aired 7-20-2023
Victory in the Pool – Creating Waves
Our book, Victory in the Pool is off to a great start. The book quickly climbed to the top rankings on Amazon with orders coming in from around the world. Author Bill George has been booked for a number of appearances, please check the evets page to see upcoming programs about the book and other topics.
Order your copy today!
Or for a Bill George autographed copy send an email to: Nimbusbill@icloud.com with your request.
About the book
This is the story of a group of kids from one Sacramento California neighborhood who won twenty Olympic gold medals during a time when Olympic athletes were the targets of revolutionaries, terrorists, violent protests and boycotts. The book tells the story of Mark Spitz, the friendless Jewish kid who confronted anti-Semitism in American pools as he rose to world dominance only to end up caught in the middle of the massacre of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics.
Readers will also learn of Debbie Meyer, one of America’s first Olympic “sweethearts.” She was the first woman to win three Gold Medals in one Olympiad and captured the hearts of fans around the world. Her teammate, Mike Burton the son of a truck driver, overcame a devastating accident to become a three-time Olympic champion.
The swimmers were carried through by a tough, sarcastic wisecracking coach who grew up as the poor son of an Oakland dockworker. Bristling at the privileged ethos of white county clubs, the man who called himself “Sherm Chavoor” rose to coach two U.S. women’s Olympic swim teams to victory while becoming “swimming’s first millionaire coach,”—despite the fact he said he could not swim.
He bullied and berated his swimmers, demanding they do better even as they emerged from the pool after they won Olympic gold. He was their “Svengali” and they had a love – hate relationship with him. His swimmers hated him for the torture he imposed on them, but loved him for pushing them beyond what they thought they could accomplish in the pool.
These swimmers stood at the center of international swimming in the 1960s and 1970s. They were a key in making the United States the world’s top swimming power. They triumphed in two of the most tumultuous and dangerous Olympic Games ever held, “The Problem Games” in Mexico City in 1968, and the “The Happy Games” in Munich. Set against the backdrop of America’s and the world’s wrenching social and generational changes, the swimmers and their coach had to navigate the explosive culture outside the pool while dedicating themselves to a daunting regimen of long hours and brutal training in the pool.
These were the first swimmers to command worldwide fame due to the rise of televised sports. The story of the era and the swimmers shaped it is a fascinating look at the personalities and pressures that forged the way we experience athletic competition to this day.
Book Reviews
Victory in the Pool takes the reader on a journey through time and Olympic swimming history. It documents the stories and passion that evolved out of Sacramento, under the guidance of coaching legend Sherm Chavoor. Decades ago, he and his students managed to open doors, raise international awareness, and put this once sleepy little capital city on the map. A native Sacramentan, I learned new information about stories I had covered throughout my decades as a print and broadcast journalist. Sacramento turned several young people into swimming stars. Not only did they win and win big— Bill George wins and wins big with this book.
— Joyce Mitchell, Emmy Award-winning documentarian
Debbie Meyer, Sue Pedersen, Mark Spitz, Mike Burton, Jeff Float and more: If you knew them, loved them, followed their careers and cheered for them, you will SO appreciate this book! You need not be a swimmer to feel both the punishment of maverick coach Sherm Chavoor’s workouts, and the powerful motivation of his approach. A thrilling play-by-play of the careers of Sacramento’s early Olympic swimmers and the coach who literally built the pool in which he trained them to greatness.
— Beth Ruyak, former NBC Sports sideline reporter
Bill George made a huge splash with this book! I jumped in and never stopped swimming through the pages. As a Sacramento sportscaster I knew and was a neighbor of Sherm Chavoor. I covered his many accomplishments, knew people that worked for him, and knew the respect the athletes had for this man. But, I never knew the whole story until now. I’m even more in awe of the drive and vision one man can have on people and history! Bill George brought this to life in this page turner about the modern history of swimming in this country.
— Kristine Hanson, former NBC and ESPN sportscaster
About The Author, Bill George
Author and Historian Bill George founded Nimbus Films in 2011 and produced “The Hidden Wonder of the World” about the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad from Sacramento to Donner Summit, which aired on KVIE, PBS for Sacramento in 2012. He wrote the book Rails, Tales and Trails as a companion guide to the film. In 2014 he produced the documentary film… >> READ MORE ABOUT BILL GEORGE
Featured Blog Posts by Author and Historian Bill George
The Subject Was Roses
The journalistic puns are already being employed; it’s a “thorny subject,” a “prickly issue,” etc. (I prefer “the subject was roses”) but the controversy over removing roses from Sacramento’s historic cemetery raises some serious issues. Here is a recent Sac Bee...