Surf over to the library for these surfin’ gems

The surf’s up at your neighborhood library with a recent wave of books and movies to enhance the collection of surf classics.

While waiting for juicy winter surf to show, cruise on in to the surf-book section of your public library and make a new acquaintance or renew an old one.

In 1851 Henry Cheever commented on surfing, “… in this consists the strength of muscle and sleight of hand, to keep the head and the shoulders just ahead and clear of the great crested wall that is every moment impending over one, and threatening to bury the bold surf-rider in its watery ruin.”

This week’s Book Buzz rounds up some of the latest in surf lit.

Cowabunga!

Extreme Surf

By Benjamin Marcus

797.32 Ma 2009

Ever since Duke Kahanamoku helped revive the ancient art of surfboard riding in the 20th century, surfers have been pushing the boundaries of what is possible.

This book shows the lengths that some people will go for the ultimate surfing experience and illustrates the most extreme surfing behavior.

It explores the gnarliest, fastest and hugest waves of the surfing world: Jaws, Dungeons, Cyclops, Shiptern’s Bluff and more accompanied by illustrations from the world’s best surf photographers and comments from surfing experts.

Force of Nature: Mind, Body, Soul (and of Course, Surfing)

By Laird Hamilton

613 Ha

Kaua‘i resident Hamilton has been hailed as the world’s greatest big-wave surfer and champion of cross-over board sports. Here he allows readers a rare glimpse inside the unique philosophy that has created his circumstances, (not the other way around).

Hamilton has ended up in the place we all desire to be: doing exactly what he loves, becoming the world’s best in the process, making a great living, being surrounded by nature and family, radiating peak health and fitness, and succeeding by any definition of the word. How did he get there? And more importantly, how can the rest of us join him?

Readers get an all-access pass into an elite world filled with definitive and provocative ideas.

Kelly Slater: For the Love

By Kelly Slater

623.87234 Sh

Whether for the love, for the money, for the show or for the fun, Kelly Slater has done it all: ridden the best waves, won a record number of world championships and redefined the level of surfing forever.

This is Kelly’s story in his own words accompanied by a visual tour of his unconventional life.

Leroy Grannis: Surf Photography of the 1960s and 1970s

Edited by Jim Heimann

797.32 Grannis 2007

In the 1950s surfing began to peak on the Mainland transforming from a sport to a way of life.

One of the key image-makers of that era is LeRoy Grannis, a surfer who began photographing the scene in California and Hawai‘i in the longboard era of the early 1960s.

This is a collection of photographs from Grannis’s personal archives: perfect waves and wipeouts, woody station wagons, contests and stomps. Iconic images of a free-spirited era before shortboards and celebrity endorsements.

Of the same era try “All for a Few Perfect Waves: The Audacious Life and Legend of Rebel Surfer Miki Dora” by David Rensin.

Pacific Passages: An Anthology of Surf Writings

Edited by Patrick Moser

H 797.32 Pa

This collection of writings spans four centuries of Polynesian and Western perspectives on the history and culture of a sport currently enjoyed by millions of people around the world.

Hawaiian legends, chants and proverbs are followed by journal entries of explorers, the travel narratives of missionaries and luminaries such as Melville, Twain, and London, as well as contemporary observations.

Readers follow the historical transformation of surfing’s image: from Polynesian myths of love through Western accounts of horror and exoticism, to modern representations of surfing as a character-building activity.

The writings reveal the sport’s ability throughout the centuries to survive, adapt, and prosper.

Also try “200 Years of Surfing Literature: An Annotated Bibliography” edited by Kauai’s Tim DeLaVega.

Stealing the Wave: The Epic Struggle

Between Ken Bradshaw and Mark Foo

By Andy Martin

797.32092 Ma

A surfing journalist narrates the decade-long conflict between two of the world’s best known “big wave” surfers who eventually develop a respect for one another.

But the budding partnership is cut short in 1994, when Foo drowns while surfing with Bradshaw.

Instead of dwelling on the tragedy, the author celebrates the lives and surfing careers of these two very different men and shows how they were joined together by their passion for their sport.

A story not just about surfing but also about friendship, perseverance, and passion.

Surf Is Where

You Find It

By Gerry Lopez

H 797.32 Lo

Lopez, one of the most revered surfers of his generation, presents a collection of 41 profiles of those who have been influential in the sport — surfing any time, any where, and in any way.

His stories about a lifetime of surfing also reveal lessons learned.

The Surfboard

Art, Style, Stoke

By Ben Marcus

797.32 Ma 2007

A history of the surf board from the monstrous koa planks of the Hawaiians to the latest and greatest plastic fantastic masterpieces. A form and function tale of innovation told in glorious photography and stoked text. Lots of boards pictured.

Also try Drew Kampion’s “Greg Noll: The Art of the Surfboard” about the legendary Greg Noll who has been hand-building surfboards for over 55 years from early balsa boards to streamlined dragsters and back to replicas of early classics.

This heavily illustrated book chronicles the life history of the surfboard as both watercraft and work of art.

Surfer’s Code: 12 Simple Lessons for Riding through Life

By Shaun Tomson

797.32092 Tomson To 2006

A sport, a religion, an obsession and a way of life. For world-champion surfer Shaun Tomson surfing is all of that and more.

In this book he shares the life lessons he’s gathered from many years of surfing from his small kid time in South Africa to the world tour in the ’70s and ’80s.

 They reflect the attitude and outlook necessary to not just survive the ups and downs of life, but to master them and emerge a winner.

Surfing’s Greatest Misadventures:  Dropping in on the Unexpected

Edited by Paul Diamond

H 797.32 Su

The true stories in this one-of-a-kind collection cross the spectrum from terrifying to comical to downright bizarre.

Find the most gripping and unbelievable stories about big waves, shark attacks, tsunamis, boating disasters, devastating wipeouts, pranks and bad judgment calls.

These 30 tales, by surf journalists, filmmakers, magazine editors, watermen and everyday surfers, illuminate the less enchanting aspects of a life committed to surfing.

Surf’s Up: The Girl’s Guide to Surfing

By Louise Southerden

YA 797.32 So all 2005

Get off the beach towel and carve up a wave with this book by a veteran surfer as your guide. Learn what to look for when buying a surfboard, how to find the right waves, how to paddle out, catch waves, stand up and turn your board, a history of women’s surfing and where to find dream surfing spots. Includes surf lingo, rules and tips.

Also try: “Surf like a Girl” by Rebecca Heller, “The Girl’s Guide to Surfing” by Andrea McCloud, or “Surf Diva: A Girl’s Guide to Getting Good Waves” by Izzy and Coco Tihanyi.

Teahupoo:

Tahiti’s Mythic Wave

By Tim McKenna

797.32096 Mc 2007

Acclaimed extreme-sports photographer Tim McKenna shares with readers a collection of photographs chronicling the beauty, brute force, and unsurpassed surfing opportunities associated with the spectacular Tahitian wave called Teahupoo.

In the text, athletes describe the competitions, triumphs and dramas, superhuman exploits and life-threatening risks they have experienced as they tried to conquer this most fascinating wave.

Hamilton, Irons, Slater, Dorian, Drollet, Van Bastolaer, David, Joyeaux, Territehau, Polakow and Stewart weigh in.

West of Jesus: Surfing, Science, and the Origins of Belief

By Steven Kotler

797.32092 Kotler Ko 2006

With nothing left to lose, the author starts out on a mad quest to find the “Conductor” the mythical surfer who controls the weather and the waves. In a surfer’s journey into the biology of belief, he ends up at a peculiar intersection of neuroscience, spirituality and sport.

Surfing, The Manual: Advanced

By Jim Kempton

797.32 Ke 2008

The Who’s Who of surfing divulge their secrets. A compendium of all the key moves, barrels, tricks, airs, big waves, tow surfing, sharks, survival competition surfing, preparation, fitness equipment boards, and ocean knowledge. Surfers include Irons, Parkinson, Burrow, Dorian, Slater, Curren, Tomson, Gerlach, Parsons, Fanning Rastovich and more. What’s not to love?

Wipeout: A Novel

By Chip Hughes

H FIC Hughes

In this fast-paced sequel to mystery novel Murder on Molokai, Surfing Detective Kai Cooke works to help a young, very-pregnant Summer McDahl prove that her husband, Corky, is in fact dead. He wiped out on Christmas Eve in gigantic surf at Waimea Bay and vanished amid suspicious circumstances. Did Corky pull off the most daring skip trace ever? Is he dead or alive? Though the Surfing Detective seems the last to know, Summer gets a great deal more than she paid for.

Surfwise: The Amazing True Odyssey of the Paskowitz Family

A lively documentary film on DVD about Dorian “Doc” Paskowitz and his unconventional surfing family. You need to see it to believe it. Or check out other surf flicks from your library:  “Blue Crush,” “Blue Horizon”, “Bustin’ Down the Door,” “Condition Black,” “Down the Barrel,” “Riding Giants,” “Step into Liquid” or “Water Man.”

• Carolyn Larson is head librarian at Lihu‘e Public Library. Her weekly column brings you the buzz on new, popular and good books available at your neighborhood library. Book annotations are culled from online publishers’ descriptions and published reviews.