I’ll second the recommendation of “In the Heart of the Sea, The Tragedy of the Essex.” Mike
Agree with you SammyA about the Dora bio by David Rensin, “All For A Few Perfect Waves”. Probably the best of all the surf bios that I’ve read.
Significantly though, Dora stipulated that if a bio was to be written it must not be written by a surf journalist. His wishes were observed and the incredibly well researched and written result is there for everyone to read and enjoy. It is a bit of a tomb though, but I liked that.
I also like all the bios I’ve read including ones about:
Rabbit
Occillupo
Nat Young
and especially Michael Petersen
Cheers,
Dave
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Don't forget these:
Chris Ahrens - Joyrides, and Good Things Love Water (I still grab these off the shelf & re-read some stories from time to time)
Gerry Lopez - Surf is Where You Find It (classic, classic stories of all kinds of adventures)
Stuart Holmes Coleman - Fierce Heart, and Eddie Would Go (great stories of classic Hawaiian times)
Surfing's Greatest Misadventures - more classic stories, many are more recent ones
The Surfer's Journal Masters of Surf Photography Books - Big, oversized, and pricier than all the rest, but many of these images are so stunning, they tell stories without words.
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Chris Ahrens was one of my roommates back in the mid 70's . He was one of those guys who is stoked 24/7 He still has that Stoke So Chris please forgive me for not bringing up your books on this thread.
Did anybody mention this one from back in 1982??? When I first started building boards back in the late 80s this book was the only thing I had to go on. This book even shows you how to make poliester blanks and fins.
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This is another must have for any surfer,
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Unimpressed with that one
essential surfing - george orbelian
dancing the wave - jean-etienne poirier
the surfer’s spirit - cynthia derosier tim anderson john bilderback
Howzit mako, Is that the surfboard building book by Steve Shaw? Aloha,Kokua
just read:The wave:In pursuit of the rogues,freaks and giants of the ocean,by Susan Casey.Fascinating.Surfed with Brett Lickle today,for those of you who read the book,his scar is definetely awesome.
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Howzit mako, Is that the surfboard building book by Steve Shaw? Aloha,Kokua
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Yes it is. When I was a kid I had 3 surfing books each of which had a huge effect on me. This one, Surfing The Ring Of Fire and Surfing The Ultimate Pleasure.
Howzit mako, Steve was a S.D. boy who was living on Kauai when I moved there from Oahu in 73'. then he moved back to the mainland and became a lawyer and moved back to Kauai for a while but I heard a few years ago he had passed away. That is a book from the 60's. Aloha,Kokua
Not about surfing per se, but I got a lot out of Steinbeck when living in Santa Cruz/Monterey counties. Of Mice and men, Cannery Row, The Wayward Bus… his writing captured something essential about that environment, something moody and lonely… and you can still feel it, it’s still there, especially if you ever breakdown and have to walk awhile along the highway around, say, King City.
HAH! Warthawg, King City!?!?!? You aren't kidding. One of the biggest if not the largest stockyards in Cal. Hope you weren't stuck there in the summertime. It definitely has it's own "mood".
Some of “Breath” was good, but all that weird sex stuff was alittle off. “Puberty Blues” is an excellent surf story from the perspective of a girl in the mid seventies - really captured the surf culture of Cronulla at the time it was written and is still oddly relevant to the area now. The film version is barely watchable.
I totally disagree with you SammyA, I liked Searching for Captain Zero, I think I “get” his sense of humor; has anyone checked out his website/blog? It’s pretty funny sh*t. But I do agree on “Caught Inside”, a totally predictable yawner.
Anybody read “Haole Substitute” by Walt Novak? - super good, very real, and by a real surfer.
Tijuanna Straights (Nunn) was a great read, but I liked The Dogs of Winter for pure surf story - he really nails the lame hyped up brain-dead “pro” surfer character so well.
We talking ocean here ? Sitting in kelp, watching the horizon…spacing out…wondering about nothing and everything ? It’s not about waves…but it is the ocean…and man…and spirit of sorts…Moby Dick.
My beef with “Zero” is that AW seems to gloss his resume a bit in that one.
As far as his website, goes… His online presence leads me to believe he’s a 9/11 conspiracy wack job, and an egomaniac.
That one’s been on my “find it” list for a while. I’ve read some stuff by Novack and he seems to write well, plus he’s apparently the real deal.
That one's been on my "find it" list for a while. I've read some stuff by Novack and he seems to write well, plus he's apparently the real deal.
I got mine at a local used book store (are you’re close by?, I’d loan it)- he used to write the funniest letters into Surfer, back when that mag was not teen beat lameness.
Rensin’s Dora book is rad - my mom bought me an autographed copy from the guy at some book signing - I am stoked on my Mom!
wackjob + egomaniac sometimes = artist
I gave a copy to my girlfriend. She’s majoring in creative writing, and used to surf a bit.
When I gave her the book, I told her that reading it might help her understand what makes me ‘tick’. Though she used to surf a little, she still doesn’t understand a lot. Well, she says she didn’t like Resnin’s style, and most likely will not finish it. Shame, that. It’s a good read and a very good character study of a complex, talented, flawed individual.
I told her that the main question the book raises is, “How far would you go to dedicate yourself to the thing you feel is most important in your life? What would you be willing to give up, to retain the thing that is at your core?”
I really enjoyed Eddie Aikau’s biography by Stuart Coleman, “Eddie Would Go”. I know not all the critics did, and probably not everyone here will – but as the saying goes, “there is no explaining taste.”