There are few things I enjoy more than the history of the modern Olympics - they provide a perfect backdrop to examine almost every political, social, and cultural movement of the last century and a half, and usually involve a cast of characters that couldn't be made up. I bring that up only to point out that my hopes and expectations for this book may vary from those of a casual reader, so your mileage may vary.

First, the good:
*The author is clearly passionate and knowledgeable about the Olympics, swimming, and sports culture in the early 20th century, and that comes across clearly - particularly in the source notes at the end, which I particularly enjoyed because they are frequently not included in audiobooks.
* The research is extensive and includes sources often overlooked, like scrapbooks and letters of friends and family, TV and radio recordings and transcripts, and cross-referencing dates and locations with seemingly unrelated events that turn out to be quite relevant.

However:
The title would be accurate without the "Three Kings" at the front. There are clearly parallels and interactions between Duke Kahanamoku and Johnny Weissmuller that make their stories intertwine in a somewhat linear (if often awkward and slightly forced) way. However, the sections about Katsuo Takaishi feel like excerpts from another work - his story is fascinating and I would love to hear more about him, but his interactions with Duke and Johnny were too minimal to blend the three of them into a single chronology.

Overall, for someone who is deeply interested in the modern Olympics, sports history, sports culture in the 1910's-1920's, or any of the three central figures, this is worth a read to pick up a few new facts to enhance what you already know. For someone coming in with limited background, I would not recommend this as a starting point - seek out one of the many excellent (and cited in this book) existing biographies or histories to get the lay of the land, then come back to this one to fill in a few blanks.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Audio for the audiobook ARC.

Three Kings was a fascinating read. I would imagine I'm not the only one who will first hear the names of these three swimming giants while listening to this audiobook. However, I'm glad to have rectified this. The stories told in this book mirror the courage of Jackie Robinson and Jesse Owens, and I'm glad to be better educated about these athletes. This book is definitely for you if you enjoy stories of sports heroes, overcoming long odds, or anything to do with the Olympic games.

In an Olympic year this is the perfect time to brush up on some sports history, and Todd Balf's Three Kings is an excellent choice to do just that. Such a compelling work of sports history.

eBook ARC- 2 Stars
Audiobook ARC - 4 Stars [for narrator]

This was very disappointing. There seemed to be a lot of words with little story - I kept waiting for it to be more coherent, more interesting, more...anything, and it just never did.

While there were parts that were interesting [I never knew about Johnny Weismuller NOT being born in America and what lengths they all went through so he could compete in the Olympics as an American athlete (UGH) and how disappointing it was to read all that (it really took away from his accomplishments), and I don't recall ever even hearing Katsuo Takaishi's name before this book (and I have watched swimming for years; apprently I just wasn't paying attention; shame on me) and was left wishing this book had been all about him], there just wasn't enough of a cohesive story to keep me fully engaged; I thought about quitting multiple times but kept hoping it would get better. For me, it just never did.

I love Edoardo Ballerini as a narrator - he is one of my absolute favorites and I was 1. so glad I got this audiobook ARC, and 2. that he was the narrator.
Unfortunately, even this amazing narrator couldn't save this book for me [through no fault of his own - he gave it his best I could tell, but you can only do so much when you are given so little to work with [I cannot even imagine how annoying the end and the "source notes" must have been to record - MEH].
Again, I cannot fault him at all; he did his job [and did it well[ and was the only reason really that I was able to finish this book. I am grateful for that.

Thank you to NetGalley, Todd Balf, Edoardo Ballerini - Narrator, Blackstone Publishing INC/Scribd - Everand Publishing and Blackstone Publishing - Audiobooks for providing the eBook and audiobook ARC's in exchange for an honest review.

This book chronicles the lives of three competitors from the 1924 Olympics in Paris who shattered all existing swimming records. Legends Duke Kahanamoku, Johnny Weissmuller, and Katsuo Takaishi were the superstars of the day. 100 years later, their stories are still remarkable. Many thanks to NetGalley for this remarkable ARC/audiobook.