So I work a pretty lame shift and have plenty of time on my hands. In your guys opinion which is your favorite or best surf book out there and why? Just looking for some good surf material to kill time. \r\n\r\nThanks Guys!
Eddie would go is awesome. Men who ride mountains is old but great. Kook is alright but not much inspiration. sweetness and blood is a good story will make u wanna surf all over the world
Pipe Dreams by Kelly Slater is a surprisingly decent read. On A Wave by Thad Ziolkowski is an excellent coming of age story about growing up in the Melbourne Beach, FL, surf community in the 1970's (my generation ). And as span1 states, Eddie Would Go is one of the best! You might also try In Search of Captain Zero by Weisbecker - it is good read, too.
Ditto the Weisbecker book entitled In Search of Captain Zero. Saltwater Buddha is thoughtful, interesting & all-around superb. Surf Is Where You Find It by Gerry Lopez is timeless in many aspects & very well-written.
Check out Zero Break, a compilation of surf writing edited by Matt Warsaw. Lots of articles and exerpts from longer books. I found it to be an excellent jumping off point. There is fiction and nonfiction by a lot of authors--from Captain Cook and Jack London up to the present. All For a Few Perfect Waves (the Dora Stroy) is also a good read. Lots of insight on surfings most famous (or infamous) character. Weisbecker is good reading, too, speaking of 'characters.'
West of Jesus - title sounds weird but is not about being born again, Author hits topics from the transcendance of riding a wave to quantum physics. It was pretty cool. Caught inside - Duane, Lost Coast - Kampion. Kem Nunn stuff too. Reading the Dora book, All for a few perfect waves - jury is still out. Dora sounds more like a butthole. Greg Noll is a funny SOB.
"The Wave." By Susan Casey, alternates between hydro physics and a godlike treatment of Laird and Likel. The best line in the book is "All physical phenomena are waves. The universe is constructed of waves. And let me tell you why. It's craziness!"- Al Osborne (physicist) in Susan Casey's book "The Wave." pg. 77 so think beyond ocean waves and sooner rather than later you'll begin to understand the patterned chaos that is our natural world. Here's the essence of this statement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVkdfJ9PkRQ&feature=player_embedded And Dora always was a butthole, by his own admission.
I have a Copy of: Great Surfing by John Severson, 1967. Includes probably the most famous surfing photo of all time; Greg Noll (the Bull) faces the Pipeline, Hawaii by Severson. Pictures & interviews of the "Duke" (the real one).
What are you looking for in "surfing literature?" Surf fiction (novels), surf history, surf culture, how-to/non-fiction, contemporary surf stories ("reality" writing), or just plain good surf literature?
All for a few Perfect Waves by David Rensin. Porbally one of the best novels that captures Who Mikey Dora was . Excelllent read definaltly worth it. Dora Lives I heard was good too but I havent had the chance to Read it yet. Caught Inside is a good easy read too
Da Bull: Life Over the Edge......it's a good book. Weird story......in '98 I went to AUS. In LAX, me and my buddy were waiting to board the plane. I look over a few rows and there's Greg Noll. My friend just finished reading his book and didn't even notice. He thought I was full of it, so I had to go introduce myself just to prove it. He was very cool to us. We all suffered the 14hr flight together. The part that sucked was when we landed, he was going north to a classsic comp with all the big dogs. We went south to explore NSW. Damnit, we should have went north.
If you're going to read only one book, read I Surf, Therefore I Am by Peter Kreeft. Kreeft is a brilliant theologian from the New England area, professor at Boston College who happens to love waves. Its an easy read and his writing style keeps you very entertained.
x2 about "THE WAVE". My dad works for Noaa and sent me that book last christmas. Pretty cool, minus all the Laird crap.
the wave was a good read, tho i found it to be a bit jumpy & disconnected, what w/ the switching from the wave physics to laird & back again. worth the time, tho, for sure. i'm surprised no one's mentioned big wednesday yet. imo, prob. one of, if not the, best surfing novels yet written. the film is meh, but the novel is much better. eddie aikau's bio, eddie would go, is well worth the read. pick it up. in search of captain zero by allan weisbecker is pretty good, too. also worth the read (nut not really surf related) is his first book, cosmic banditos. funny as hell. a bit hard to find, tho. good things love water, by chris aherns, is a compilation of short stories & is some of the best surf writing out there. it's not really surf related, & i haven't read it, but i've heard good things about moby duck. it's about a scientist who tracks a lost shipment of rubber duckies around the pacific & studies the currents that deposit the ducks in various places around the pacific rim. neat concept, but like i said, i haven't read it. west of jesus was a piece of ****, btw. horrible book.
Thanks for all of the input. Some great options out there. I guess I should have been a little more clear. A book more on surf culture and maybe some of the old days, Like a big wednesday type story, that catches the lifestyle, and how things change with time n all. I dont know if there is a specific book out there like that but thats essentially what im looking for.
Pipe Dreams by Kelly Slater is pretty interesting I'm in the middle of it right now. The only bad thing is that it stops when he has won only 6 world titles. So he might need a volume 2 to come out. However its still interesting.
