Noteworthy sauna books by actual humans, early 2026
As the steam around sauna continues to build around the world, more books steadily come out. In this book introduction post I want to pay homage to human authors who produce literary works in the age AI. AI is not only steadily saturating the demand for new literature but also producing loads of slop that opportunistic humans disguise as non-fiction literature.
The three books I discuss tell very different stories from distinctively human angles. The first one is fact-packed but fun to read, the second is great for inspiration browsing while barely readable, and the third one reminds us how super local sustainable sauna cultures can be.
Lyhyesti suomeksi
Esittelen tässä postauksessa kolme uutta, elävien ihmisten toteuttamaa sauna-aiheista kirjaa. Ensimmäinen kirja on faktoja pursuavasta sisällöstään huolimatta erinomaisen helppoa luettavaa, toisen esittelemiä saunoja kelpaa katsella ja kolmas kertoo, siitä miten pienikin julkinen sauna voi luoda itselleen kulttuurisen suojavyöhykkeen.
Bill Gifford (2026) Hotwired: How the Hidden Power of Heat Makes Us Stronger
Over the past ten years, I’ve read numerous scientific and technical publications related to sauna and human thermal comfort. I have plowed through most of Jari Laukkanen’s research group’s papers multiple times and invested in consuming the Human Thermal Environments by Kevin Parsons in bits and pieces. However, before reading Bill Gifford’s Hotwired, I had never fully appreciated heat acclimation as a key concept in explaining individual differences under heat stress. I did, thank to The Joy of Sweat by Sarah Everts, appreciate the system of sweating, but I was delighted to learn a lot more about our bodies’ adaptability to thermal environments from this new book.
Gifford’s long experience as a journalist shows in his easy writing. He moves from various medically technical topics with ease. This probably means he has to make shortcuts here and there to explain things in a layman’s terms. This is imperceptible, but if the reader knows the source material, they may notice this.
I made many delightful discoveries from the book. It provided several surprises, for instance, questioning the effectiveness and healthiness of the currently very popular cold plunging and the Wim Hof methodology in particular. It also deals a critical blow to the credibility of some modern “sweat medicine”, such as the ritual concocted by Scientology. As Bill explained to me, their “sweat medicine” refers to the very popular misconception that we “sweat out our toxins,” which is not strongly supported by scientific evidence.
That information also affected this article as I had planned to introduce a book called “Sweat” written and published by Justin Glaser. That book had caught my attention in some sauna conversations, but Gifford’s explanation for the Scientology origins of the “niacin protocol” confirmed my suspicions that Justin maybe didn’t quite realize what he was into (or then he did), but this resulted in my discarding that book from this post.
The Hotwired book is also very personal. The author describes in detail, occasionally maybe even too much detail (or too deep, say “probey”), his personal journey in the world of heat, from the opening scenes at Rajaportti, Finland to final suffering as a test subject in his home state in Utah. I personally appreciate the detail he puts into describing contemporary Finnish sauna habits from several perspectives, and how well he conveys what goes on in the public sauna domain. Of course that hides away much of the private bathing, but that would have been a very tall order.
I had the pleasure to interview Bill shortly in May 2026 about the book and the impact of the writing process to his sauna relationship (what else!!!). Bill told me that nowadays he’s got a monthly pass to two local saunas, and he has been blessed by the sauna boom that has driven up the supply even in Utah. A place that used to be very dry in sauna terms. So, now Bill goes to the sauna at least once a week, trying to achieve – what I’d call – a Finnish type of calming and relaxing sauna experience, rather trying to forcefully hike up his core temperature as he described doing multiple times in the book. As it turned out he didn’t yet have a home sauna, I had to ask about it. “A writer needs a good reason to get of the house occasionally.” That I can wholeheartedly agree with.
Overall, Hotwired was for me one of the most uplifting and fun reading experiences in non-fiction in several years. Not only because of its strong sauna relevance, but also because it feels like comprehensively researched and well-explained popular science writing. My only disappointment with the book was that it was too quick to read. The hardcover has just 230 pages of reading, plus almost 60 pages of citations and references. A couple of illustrations are well enough, but I could have easily devoured another 200 pages!
Hotwired is available globally in digital and hardcover editions. For example, see Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Hotwired-Hidden-Power-Makes-Stronger/dp/0063448025
Christopher Selman (2026). Ridiculously Good-Looking Saunas.
The German publisher gestalten is known for its picturesque large-format books. It comes as no surprise that they can now claim the credit for publishing the very first coffee table format book about saunas. The book is 9×11” (23×29 cm, smaller end of coffee table books) and is naturally wrapped between a fine hardcover binding, printed in Germany.
The book is nominally authored by British Christopher Selman, a sauna designer and builder, who curated the collection, but the credits for the content go to writer Joshua Kirkman, designer Stefan Morgner, and two editors. Photos are courtesy of each sauna location. The design is of superb quality. The semi-glossy printing brings out the best of the photos contributed by the participating venues. This means the book offers real eye-candy for sauna-hungry readers, inspirational architecture, and beautiful spots around the world.
In my reading, I find it to be visually outstanding and textually exhausting.
Most readers would pick up this book for its photos, leaf through, and let it down with a longing sigh to get into the depicted saunas.
After praising the illustration, a few words on curation. I appreciate that all 36 included sites are truly saunas, most of which might even meet the criteria of the recent European sauna standard definition. The curation is geared towards extremes, and while I could point out some missing rarities, Selman has clearly done his part well in finding picture-worthy locations across the world. For example, CYCL from Japan and Ziedlejas from Latvia both impressed me even through the pages.
My only concern is that the selection has been driven by visual standards of available photography, or so I presume. I didn’t manage to contact the author to explain the process, so this is just my hunch.
The text then. Maybe I should just leave it here, as I usually prefer not to talk about the repulsive matters in the sauna context. To start with the layout, the book uses an appropriate sans-serif typeface consistently, but a hard-to-read style of paragraph justification. Then the actual writing. The style of writing is thick with adjectives that do their best to convey the superb design, construction, and fit of the sauna to its physical and social surroundings. This is okay for the first few saunas, but then it gets too much.
Way too much.
The form is perfect, but the content is indigestible for me. I would call this style of writing phenomenological symbolism, reminiscent of post-structuralism or continental philosophy- that is writing padded with many abstract nouns and adjectives. And I could only stomach few chapters at a time. In the end, I just had to stop reading and focus on enjoying the photos. The best title for the book would have been Ridiculously Good-Looking Sauna Photos, and it could have survived with even less text (especially on top of the full spread images).
If I tried hard to interpret what little information about the sites Kirkman was trying to deliver, there are respectable values being praised (ever too often, though). However, the compliments about sustainability, inclusivity, or ecological footprint often felt hollow when one considered the questionable construction of many saunas. By this, I mean they contain structural weaknesses such as missing insulation, poor thermal comfort, minimal concern for cleaning, and so forth, which will severely influence their long-term usefulness and environmental footprint. These types of considerations did not surface in the writing that was fully occupied by describing the endless virtues of each site without mention of, for example, the total CO2 equivalent footprint of each construction.
But really, this is a fine book, as long as you don’t try consuming it word by word. It will look nice in the lobby of every public sauna that doesn’t shy away from promoting how widespread Finnish saunas are today.
Available globally, around 50 USD or 45 EUR.
https://gestalten.com/products/ridiculously-good-looking-saunas?
More book content for free:
https://www.designboom.com/architecture/ridiculously-good-looking-saunas-36-design-thermal-retreats-worldwide-christopher-selman-gestalten/
Joshua Womack (2025) Sweaty Stories from the Cleveland Schvitz
Published by the History Press in South Carolina, an imprint of Arcadia Publishing, the third book I highlight is by all standards a light edition. A thin paperback of 120 pages in a 6×9” format, Joshua Womack’s history of a specific Russian bathhouse deserves a mention for its illustrative value. What it demonstrates is that individual public saunas can maintain a bathing culture of their own in their small local bubble.
The Cleveland Schvitz is an institution that originates from the Russian Jewish immigration that started around 1880 and brought hundreds of thousands of immigrants to Eastern states. This created demand for Russian-style bathhouses in the areas that became popular among immigrants, and several banyas opened, not only in New York City, but also in the far smaller Cleveland, Ohio.
Womack’s book tells a warm story of how different generations of families and owners have kept the schvitz going since 1927, despite various challenges. The word schvitz is Yiddish (one language many European Jews spoke in the early 20th century) and means sweating. It is used in a similar way to sauna, both as a noun (place of sweat) and as a verb (to sweat). Technically speaking, the Cleveland schvitz resembles both a banya with its single large heater as well as a sauna. The bathing ritual is much akin to sauna/banya proceedings, with steam and whisks (platza).
The book contains many short stories that delve into the site’s history from different angles. Some discuss operation and ownership, some devoted patrons, some its exclusive cuisine, and some the evident discrimination against “hos, bros, and mos” as customers. The stories are well written, but have a tendency to get hard to follow because of the number of people discussed. Too many characters get briefly mentioned. Like Harry met Sally, Barry knew Gary, and then there was Larry. All of this might make sense if you can relate to or remember these people, but it’s not that exciting to read.
The book is over sooner than I hoped. I feel the author ran out of stories (or time/money to collect them) and so there’s less than 100 pages of sweaty history. But it’s fun while it lasts. I would not mind seeing similar books in the honor of other institutions of sweat!
Available directly from the publisher in North America for $25 USD
https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/products/sweaty-stories-from-the-cleveland-schvitz-9781467159142?
And through known online outlets (Amazon and Barnes & Noble)
More books to come
I have a feeling that we’ve not seen the end of new sauna-related books this year, so I might return with more hints for Christmas shopping by December.
One book I know of, Finnish Shamanism Laid Bare, was just released by Finnish scholar Kaarina Kailo. She invites interested buyers to contact her directly for orders and shipping at kaarina.kailo@gmail.com (prices from 20 €).
And of course, I am happy to announce that my new book about sauna maintenance will be published 25th of September at the International Sauna Congress 2026.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to Bill for the interview and the Upper Bench podcast for bringing Womack’s book to my attention!
