https://www.threekingsthebook.com/writing daily 0.75 2024-08-13 https://www.threekingsthebook.com/writing/i-have-recurring-memory-lapses monthly 0.5 2024-07-01 https://www.threekingsthebook.com/writing/caitlin-clark-james-sullivan-award monthly 0.5 2024-05-08 https://www.threekingsthebook.com/writing/shogun-tv-series-missed-the-mark-with-dramatic-swimming-scene monthly 0.5 2024-05-08 https://www.threekingsthebook.com/writing/the-last-river monthly 0.5 2024-04-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/dfdd995f-022e-41d1-988b-d9038372a12e/51ZSQ7MA6VL._AC_UF1000%2C1000_QL80_.jpg My Writing - The Last River It was the ultimate whitewater adventure on the Mount Everest of rivers, and the biggest challenge of their lives…. https://www.threekingsthebook.com/writing/the-darkest-jungle monthly 0.5 2024-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/c41baad4-d162-461f-b059-fff501a15d38/9781415901328.jpeg My Writing - The Darkest Jungle The true story of the Darien Expedition and America’s ill-fated race to connect the seas https://www.threekingsthebook.com/writing/disability-paralysis-swimming monthly 0.5 2024-05-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/132801f0-19d1-4218-bffd-5342db5269e4/image.png My Writing - It’s Never too Late to Fall in Love With Swimming Interview with Peter Catapano for the New York Times Opinion section Instagram Live series, April 23, 2021 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/9d3e67d7-b03b-4dec-bd07-f4497489fc0b/15balf-superJumbo.jpg My Writing - It’s Never too Late to Fall in Love With Swimming At first, being in water made me feel defeated. Now it’s transformed me. New York Times, April 15, 2021 https://www.threekingsthebook.com/writing/when-words-leap monthly 0.5 2024-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/21a77b60-907f-4fd3-a8bd-15dca7bcb46b/Balf-page_cropped_preview.jpg My Writing - When Words, and a Life, Truly Leap Off the Page My grandfather was mainly a figure in a Broadway play to me — until I read his journals L.A. Times, July 4, 2021 https://www.threekingsthebook.com/writing/the-last-trip monthly 0.5 2024-05-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/e31e5a75-a43f-4d82-b6d4-1ee88d2ca818/LAST-TRIP-MJ_Page_1_web.jpg My Writing - The Last Trip The Incredible Life and Tragic Death of Ned Gillette Men’s Journal, November 1998 https://www.threekingsthebook.com/writing/major monthly 0.5 2024-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/2e1c600c-6955-4024-a718-ba68df87acfa/IMG_2259.jpg My Writing - Major A Black Athlete, a White Era, and the Fight to Be the World's Fastest Human Being https://www.threekingsthebook.com/writing/complications monthly 0.5 2024-05-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/1654020038211-72WBYTT0B2RAMKY5NH8X/Todd+Balf+Complications+Cover.jpg My Writing - Complications The diagnosis was bad. The aftermath was calamitous. My new life as a medical train wreck https://www.threekingsthebook.com/writing/category/Articles monthly 0.5 https://www.threekingsthebook.com/writing/category/Books monthly 0.5 https://www.threekingsthebook.com/writing/tag/New monthly 0.5 https://www.threekingsthebook.com/blog-1-1 daily 0.75 2024-04-10 https://www.threekingsthebook.com/blog-1-1/Blog Post Title One-m6jsd monthly 0.5 2020-08-27 https://www.threekingsthebook.com/blog-1-1/blog-post-title-two-m76mw monthly 0.5 2020-05-20 https://www.threekingsthebook.com/blog-1-1/blog-post-title-three-adfym monthly 0.5 2020-05-20 https://www.threekingsthebook.com/three-kings daily 0.75 2024-04-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/6568c100-16eb-4181-bb7f-78cb45565ef2/early+johnny+image+1921.jpg About the Book - Make it stand out Portrait of a young Johnny Weissmuller. Credit: Chicago History Museum https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/301639b6-46e9-4a19-b8c3-fa00b72fbc59/duke+playing+guitar+at+iac+1916.jpg About the Book - Make it stand out Duke Kahanamoku with his guitar in a stopover at Chicago’s Illinois Athletic Club on Michigan Ave. Credit: Chicago History Museum https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/359ced16-f150-47be-966b-74eccbe1d899/IMG_2247.jpg About the Book - Make it stand out Katsuo Takaishi and Johnny Weissmuller, shaking hands poolside in Tokyo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/8e7b0676-91c7-4c5e-bd62-50a439a9dcee/affiche-jeux-olympqies-paris-1924.jpeg About the Book - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/e032165e-13d9-4069-b46d-07973ece76f2/DUKE+RACIST+CARTOON+FROM+bISHOP+CLIPPED+AUSTRALIA.jpg About the Book Racist cartoon about Duke Kahanamoku during his tour of Australia in 1916. Credit: Bishop Museum https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/780a7198-821c-48fd-9128-3688eed04b09/stade+nautique+des+Tourelles.jpg About the Book Drawing of the Tourelles swimming stadium in Paris https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/c0300062-7d3f-4712-bc83-334a23030722/from+Takaishi%27s+daugther+1.jpg About the Book Newlywed celebs Katsuo Takaishi and Mineko Takaishi after their marriage in 1933. Credit: Courtesy of Takaishi family https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/937f4ef9-aeb4-4b33-8a66-f54235113e62/from+Takaishi%27s+daughter+2.jpg About the Book Takaishi and Weissmuller in Tokyo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/2f1ddaf3-03f2-4441-a057-f41dc29ad892/kt+profile.jpg About the Book Katsuo Takaishi https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/c9aa3a9a-ab2c-4539-ae2d-bb8f63416ad6/IMG_1366.jpg About the Book Portrait of the Japanese swimming team taken in the Olympic village in Paris. Sitting from right is the master coach Den Sugimoto https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/359ced16-f150-47be-966b-74eccbe1d899/IMG_2247.jpg About the Book Weissmuller shaking the hand of his Japanese rival Katsuo Takaishi https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/01dada04-3d87-4575-8c3d-198f255ac79f/life+2.jpg About the Book Life magazine Olympic edition in July 1924 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/81409876-da1f-4914-bedb-5b7ece51679a/duke+and+johnny+dancing.jpg About the Book Duke and Johnny in an impromptu hula dance at a 1950 Hall of Fame ceremony in LA. Credit: Bishop Museum https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/8816c540-8708-4459-b59e-678e2e1b12c9/early+Johnny+image+circa+1921.jpg About the Book Young Johnny Weissmuller. Credit: Chicago History Museum https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/868adcdd-e6aa-48b3-b075-0e75c4d52d62/kt+on+duke+board.jpg About the Book Katsuo Takaishi in a mid 1920s visit to Hawaii https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/5583079c-502b-4e2e-9939-bde14bb21792/JW+porrtrait+1924.jpg About the Book Johnny posing for his portrait at the Pach Brothers studio in New York City in 1924. Credit: National Portrait Gallery https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/a65bd49b-d1f4-4003-b9a7-11031bf6560d/duke+and+Bach+team+in+auto+1919.jpg About the Book Duke on the running board and rival IAC coach Bill Bachrach during a meet in Hawaii in 1919. Credit: Bishop Museum https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/48cb961e-9626-4c59-b5e0-faa3d04ccf65/duke+in+hollywood+1922+teaching+crawl.jpg About the Book Duke teaching actress Laura Anson the crawl stroke in a 1922 Hollywood film https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/e737d6f3-1d84-42e2-8346-684968b66119/paris+2024+characterures+duke%2C+druk+jr%2C+johnny.jpg About the Book Caricature of Johnny and the Kahanamoku brothers published in the Parisian paper, Le Miroir des Sports, during the 1924 Olympics https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/ef837ceb-8a12-469a-9bd2-02016499f79c/duke+in+tickertape+NYC+parade+1920.jpg About the Book Duke and the triumphant 1920 American Olympic team marching down 5th Avenue in Manhattan. Credit: Library of Congress https://www.threekingsthebook.com/bio daily 0.75 2024-05-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/50eaeec3-509c-4e30-8c02-977f4be124d5/panama+cartoon.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/8adf3e40-2101-425b-ac3a-7f51a5159ceb/triking+road+off.JPG https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/6b85934f-79f1-41be-a093-072dd533fb22/family+1.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/a8e70d24-79d5-4a10-9203-a288ae98fffe/darien+crew.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/1a65d939-fb4f-4ac2-8f91-8a95960f3d75/RATOI-riders.jpg https://www.threekingsthebook.com/home daily 1.0 2025-06-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/12ab9d7d-3a0b-4d8f-b18f-25577d41a019/Balf-ThreeKings-Paperback.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/879ac323-7e5a-4591-9b05-5733f67e4750/author+pphoto+yankee.png Home - I’ve been writing books for decades about odds-against American explorers and sporting strivers. In explaining why he shifted gears and wrote only about John Adams and not Adams and Thomas Jefferson as he originally intended, the historian David McCullough is fond of saying that you go where the light is. I seem drawn to the dark and what my friend calls ‘unsung failures.’ My first two books, The Last River and The Darkest Jungle, focused on an American archetype, the doomed explorer. I hold a kind of reverence for obsessed people pointing to an impossible goal, whether finding a canal route in uncharted jungle or descending into a lost Himalayan canyon. Major, about black cycling champion Marshall “Major” Taylor, was rediscovering an American sports era, the early 1900s, and a figure lost to time. I see Three Kings in the same vein, almost a follow up to Major, set this time in the wild 1920s but focused on three forgotten giants of sport and the hurdles each faced en route to history: the clock, each other, and the forces they couldn’t control — race ranking scientists, bigotry, and hate. Get in touch with me. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/1b5de513-2a38-4007-8326-4d415b953a0c/major+paperback+cover.jpg Home - Writing Other books and articles https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/261df307-ad7a-495c-8655-6d1d268929f6/1924_bronze-medal.png Home - Three Kings Excerpt and photos from the book https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/d7f8e1f2-8ebe-4ba1-9af7-75353a24607a/author+pphoto+yankee.jpg Home - About Me https://www.threekingsthebook.com/home-1 daily 0.75 2024-04-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/879ac323-7e5a-4591-9b05-5733f67e4750/author+pphoto+yankee.png Home (Copy) - I’ve been writing books for decades about odds-against American explorers and sporting strivers. In explaining why he shifted gears and wrote only about John Adams and not Adams and Thomas Jefferson as he originally intended, the historian David McCullough is fond of saying that you go where the light is. I seem drawn to the dark and what my friend calls ‘unsung failures.’ My first two books, The Last River and The Darkest Jungle, focused on an American archetype, the doomed explorer. I hold a kind of reverence for obsessed people pointing to an impossible goal, whether finding a canal route in uncharted jungle or descending into a lost Himalayan canyon. Major, about black cycling champion Marshall “Major” Taylor, was rediscovering an American sports era, the early 1900s, and a figure lost to time. I see Three Kings in the same vein, almost a follow up to Major, set this time in the wild 1920s but focused on three forgotten giants of sport and the hurdles each faced en route to history: the clock, each other, and the forces they couldn’t control — race ranking scientists, bigotry, and hate. Get in touch with me. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/d7f8e1f2-8ebe-4ba1-9af7-75353a24607a/author+pphoto+yankee.jpg Home (Copy) - About Me https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/1b5de513-2a38-4007-8326-4d415b953a0c/major+paperback+cover.jpg Home (Copy) - Writing Other books and articles https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/261df307-ad7a-495c-8655-6d1d268929f6/1924_bronze-medal.png Home (Copy) - Three Kings Coming July 2, 2024 https://www.threekingsthebook.com/three-kings-1 daily 0.75 2024-04-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/8e7b0676-91c7-4c5e-bd62-50a439a9dcee/affiche-jeux-olympqies-paris-1924.jpeg Three Kings, the Book (Copy) - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/6568c100-16eb-4181-bb7f-78cb45565ef2/early+johnny+image+1921.jpg Three Kings, the Book (Copy) - Make it stand out Portrait of a young Johnny Weissmuller. Credit: Chicago History Museum https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/301639b6-46e9-4a19-b8c3-fa00b72fbc59/duke+playing+guitar+at+iac+1916.jpg Three Kings, the Book (Copy) - Make it stand out Duke Kahanamoku with his guitar in a stopover at Chicago’s Illinois Athletic Club on Michigan Ave. Credit: Chicago History Museum https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/359ced16-f150-47be-966b-74eccbe1d899/IMG_2247.jpg Three Kings, the Book (Copy) - Make it stand out Katsuo Takaishi and Johnny Weissmuller, shaking hands poolside in Tokyo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/e032165e-13d9-4069-b46d-07973ece76f2/DUKE+RACIST+CARTOON+FROM+bISHOP+CLIPPED+AUSTRALIA.jpg Three Kings, the Book (Copy) Racist cartoon about Duke Kahanamoku during his tour of Australia in 1916. Credit: Bishop Museum https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/780a7198-821c-48fd-9128-3688eed04b09/stade+nautique+des+Tourelles.jpg Three Kings, the Book (Copy) Drawing of the Tourelles swimming stadium in Paris https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/c0300062-7d3f-4712-bc83-334a23030722/from+Takaishi%27s+daugther+1.jpg Three Kings, the Book (Copy) Newlywed celebs Katsuo Takaishi and Mineko Takaishi after their marriage in 1933. Credit: Courtesy of Takaishi family https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/937f4ef9-aeb4-4b33-8a66-f54235113e62/from+Takaishi%27s+daughter+2.jpg Three Kings, the Book (Copy) Takaishi and Weissmuller in Tokyo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/2f1ddaf3-03f2-4441-a057-f41dc29ad892/kt+profile.jpg Three Kings, the Book (Copy) Katsuo Takaishi https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/c9aa3a9a-ab2c-4539-ae2d-bb8f63416ad6/IMG_1366.jpg Three Kings, the Book (Copy) Portrait of the Japanese swimming team taken in the Olympic village in Paris. Sitting from right is the master coach Den Sugimoto https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/359ced16-f150-47be-966b-74eccbe1d899/IMG_2247.jpg Three Kings, the Book (Copy) Weissmuller shaking the hand of his Japanese rival Katsuo Takaishi https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/01dada04-3d87-4575-8c3d-198f255ac79f/life+2.jpg Three Kings, the Book (Copy) Life magazine Olympic edition in July 1924 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/81409876-da1f-4914-bedb-5b7ece51679a/duke+and+johnny+dancing.jpg Three Kings, the Book (Copy) Duke and Johnny in an impromptu hula dance at a 1950 Hall of Fame ceremony in LA. Credit: Bishop Museum https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/8816c540-8708-4459-b59e-678e2e1b12c9/early+Johnny+image+circa+1921.jpg Three Kings, the Book (Copy) Young Johnny Weissmuller. Credit: Chicago History Museum https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/868adcdd-e6aa-48b3-b075-0e75c4d52d62/kt+on+duke+board.jpg Three Kings, the Book (Copy) Katsuo Takaishi in a mid 1920s visit to Hawaii https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/5583079c-502b-4e2e-9939-bde14bb21792/JW+porrtrait+1924.jpg Three Kings, the Book (Copy) Johnny posing for his portrait at the Pach Brothers studio in New York City in 1924. Credit: National Portrait Gallery https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/a65bd49b-d1f4-4003-b9a7-11031bf6560d/duke+and+Bach+team+in+auto+1919.jpg Three Kings, the Book (Copy) Duke on the running board and rival IAC coach Bill Bachrach during a meet in Hawaii in 1919. Credit: Bishop Museum https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/e737d6f3-1d84-42e2-8346-684968b66119/paris+2024+characterures+duke%2C+druk+jr%2C+johnny.jpg Three Kings, the Book (Copy) Caricature of Johnny and the Kahanamoku brothers published in the Parisian paper, Le Miroir des Sports, during the 1924 Olympics https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/48cb961e-9626-4c59-b5e0-faa3d04ccf65/duke+in+hollywood+1922+teaching+crawl.jpg Three Kings, the Book (Copy) Duke teaching actress Laura Anson the crawl stroke in a 1922 Hollywood film https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629640bbd174f62795c48dbc/ef837ceb-8a12-469a-9bd2-02016499f79c/duke+in+tickertape+NYC+parade+1920.jpg Three Kings, the Book (Copy) Duke and the triumphant 1920 American Olympic team marching down 5th Avenue in Manhattan. Credit: Library of Congress