Eddie Would Go by Stuart Holmes Coleman.
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Always nice to get a book for Xmas, especially if its a surfing book.
First of all I checked to see how many pics there were in it and theres 16 pages of pics showing the main players in the book, Eddie, his family and the surfers of the time.
The book does a great job of explaining the history of Hawaii and its rulers from pre-statehood and setting the stage for the story of the Aikau family. Apart from the obvious links to surfing, the book fills out how the Aikau family lived and tells a lot about the characters within and around the family and the Island community in general. The families warmth and love for each other and everyone they embrace is moving and after the death of a brother I put the book down for a while because Eddies reaction is sincerely moving...
There are lots of things in the book I didnt know about some big name surfers of the time,their feats, triumphs, and their untimely demise at the hands of drugs and alcohol are a cautionary tale to all.
The story moves onto Eddies involvement with the twin hull canoe Hokule'a, and Eddies courageous attempt to save all aboard.
Once again the profound grief is honestly moving.
Overall its a good book that young people can relate to as well, worth reading just for the amount of historical Hawaiian information and background of the local Hawaiian surfing culture, but the real standout isnt the book but the joy of the Aikau family, funny, tough, loving and gentle. Their spirit of Aloha remains with the reader.