About the Author and Book

Lynne Cox is an American long-distance open-water swimmer, motivational speaker, and author. Over the course of more than 35 years, spanning a period equal to 8 Olympic Games, Lynne accomplished swims setting world records and opening borders, contributed to medical research, supported environmental causes, and inspired people to overcome great obstacles.

She is best known for her swim across the Bering Strait from the United States to the Soviet Union on 7 August 1987. She twice held the overall record for the fastest crossing of the English Channel from England to France and has completed over 60 challenging swims around the world.

When Lynne saw a video of a Newfoundland dog leaping from an airborne helicopter into Italian waters to save someone from drowning, she was transfixed by the rescue, and captivated by the magnificence, physicality, and daring of the dog.

Tales of Al is the moving, inspiring story of Lynne’s adventures on Italy’s picturesque Lake Idroscalo, as witness to the rigorous training of one of these spectacular dogs at SICS, the famed school that has taught hundreds of dog owners how to train their dogs—Newfoundlands, German shepherds, and golden retrievers—for this rescue operation. Lynne writes about coming to know the dog at the book’s center, Al herself, from puppyhood, an adorable but untrainable chocolate Newfoundland—about the dreams, expectations, disappointments, and vision of her trainer and about realizing the dog’s full potential; striving with all of her canine might to become an expertly trained, highly specialized water rescue dog.