Take the Waters

As long as there have been humans, we have gathered by rivers and hot springs, oceans and lakes, to cleanse and sweat, rejuvenate and relax

Ancient Greeks bathed to purify themselves before entering a temple; ancient Chinese physicians prescribed cold-water swimming to cure illnesses. Bathing took us closer to God and further from disease.

Drawing on deep, original reporting, science and psychology, as well as historical archives, Melissa Godin explores bathing cultures around the world, revealing how elemental bathing is to the human experience. We will sweat in the hammams of Morocco; wade into the polluted but holy waters of the Ganges; wash in the historic bathhouses of San Francisco; and swim in the cold-waters of Britain.