English Channel latter part of the 19th century when Captain Matthew Webb made the first observed and unassisted swim across the Strait of Dover, swimming from England to France on 24–25 August 1875 in 21 hours 45 minutes. In 1927, at a time when fewer than ten swimmers (including the first woman, Gertrude Ederle in 1926) had managed to emulate the feat and many dubious claims were being made, the Channel Swimming Association (CSA) was founded to authenticate and ratify swimmers' claims to have swum the Channel and to verify crossing times. The CSA was dissolved in 1999 and was succeeded by
The Man Who Knew Coolidge reception of "The Man Who Knew Coolidge" was mixed. It suffered both unfavorable reviews, including critic Heywood Broun calling it "the dullest writing ever to come from a first-class writing man", and favorable notices, among the latter being a front page appearance on the "New York Times" Book Review section. Schorer himself appeared unimpressed, calling "The Man Who Knew Coolidge" "[a] more trivial project". Lewis' most recent biographer, Richard Lingeman, devotes very little space to "The Man Who Knew Coolidge": in 554 pages there are only two mentions of it. The Man Who Knew Coolidge The Man Who Knew Coolidge