Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #67979 in Books
• Published on: 2005-11-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 816 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780156032513
• Condition: USED - VERY GOOD
• Notes:
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
What's that sound coming from the beach? That's the rustle of pages turning, as would-be immortals look themselves up in The Encyclopedia of Surfing, surfing's first comprehensive reference book. The Encyclopedia of Surfing chronicles nearly every bit of wave-riding--its history, places, mythology, champions, tragedies, in-jokes, and minutiae. Author Matt Warshaw, former editor of Surfer magazine, and his fellow researchers took three years to put together this prodigious tome. The most surprising thing about the book is its terrific readability. Though the 1,500 entries are organized in typical encyclopedic style, one after the other alphabetically, none of them--not a single one--is completely boring. Not even the one on the technicalities of fin placement. In fact, the book is a trap, leading unsuspecting readers on a wandering journey from pioneer surfer Duke Kahanamoku to the development of hollow boards to the lifeguards who used them to lifeguard Eddie Aikau to his home in Waimea Bay to.... Suddenly, hours have gone by and there's still the huge entry on Gidget to read. Illustrated like a dictionary, this book has only one or two small black-and-white photos every couple of pages. A history of surfing introduces the entries; at the end, a bibliography, round-up of surf contest results, and lists of movies, magazines, and music provide the big finish. Though Warshaw's first three books (SurfRiders, Above the Roar, and Maverick's) were entertaining looks at surfers and surfing, this one makes him the official Kahuna of surf lore. Surfing is a multi-billion-dollar industry, flinging hordes of people and buckets of money into the waves each year. The Encyclopedia of Surfing is its new bible. --Therese Littleton

From Publishers Weekly
This volume is a gift to surfers, both neophytes and pros. Warshaw, a former pro-surfer and editor of Surfer magazine, offers the sport's first all-encompassing encyclopedia. "Cheater five," "Malibu U," "Gidget"-if you can name it, Warshaw's included it in his exhaustive catalog. There are entries for each physical part of the wave (such as the lip, curl and trough); detailed discussions of surf movies, magazines and books; types of surfboards, including both physical descriptions and the philosophy of surfing each ("animosity between shortboarders and longboarders has been present to one degree or another since the 1970s"); and bios of pro surfers and board shapers. Warshaw doesn't gloss over the sport's ugly sides, and devotes several pages to such topics as "violence and surfing," "localism," "surf rage," and "sharks and surfing." He offers helpful information for each country, state or county where surfing is popular-from Oregon to Californian, Maine to Florida, and from the Great Lakes to Texas. This is an indispensable tome for any surfer.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Warshaw is a former pro surfer, editor of Surfer magazine, and a journalist who has written several well-received trade titles about the sport. Here the author has compiled an exhaustive reference to the surfing world, organized into alphabetical entries.

The entries cover basic techniques ("goofy foot" and "regular foot" stances, for example) and gear; legendary surf breaks and competitions; the science of surfing (including explanations of how waves are measured); cultural references, such as major publications, films, and characters (the infamous Gidget earns a lengthy entry); famous surfers throughout history; and broader topics, such as Drugs and surfing, Religion and surfing, Surf art, and Television and surfing, that examine surfing's subculture and impact on larger society.

The extensive appendixes include a selected bibliography; selected surf contest results from 1954 through 2002; an exhaustive list of surf movies, videos, and DVDs as well as a list of surfing magazines around the world; and a selected surf music discography.

Warshaw's tone is both highly informed and personal. The entries define terms clearly and offer contextual analysis bolstered with quotes from various mainstream media sources. But Warshaw's profiles of individual surfers include some oddly subjective language. One official, for example, is described as a "fleshy, surf-erudite competition administrator," while legendary Laird Hamilton is the "brawny, blond master of tow-in surfing." The result is a unique resource that combines neatly categorized, rarely covered information with a lively, intimate view of the surfing world.

With surfing gaining prominence in the media, public and academic libraries will want to consider this one-of-a-kind resource. The reasonable price makes this accessible to those high-school libraries where materials on the subject are in demand. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

The Leviathan of Surf Books
This is the ultimate surfing book for both the hard core surfer and the wannabee. Everything under the sun (and surf) is covered and presented in an interesting and informative way. The book is big so you definitely get your money's worth. I haven't finished reading all of it--but I'm not sure that even possible. It's the kind of book you can pick up and spent 10-15 minutes reading a few entries and then come back to it later. I liked Warshaw's other books, particularly Mavericks, but this is a really different beast. An ambitous attempt to cover the entire scope of the sport in detail. He pulls it off totally.

The Best Book on Surfing Ever?
I think it must be. This massive book (800 pages plus) covers everyhing about this great sport. But what is most amazing, is that the writing is so excellent--all of the characters, surf breaks, technology, competitions, movies, music, really come alive under Warshaw's unique eye. All the facts are there in excrutiating detail, but the way they are presented makes reading the book addictive. This has got to be the new bible for the sport.

Like Surfers Journal... almost
I surf almost every day and can never seem to quench my thirst. My favorite read, by far, of all books and periodicals is The Surfers Journal. It truly captures the many angles of the sport. This book is somewhat in the same vein. It's exhaustive, comprehensive and true to the roots. If you love the history of the sport buy it. If you read Surfing, have never ridden more than one type of board or never traveled to pursue a new wave... don't (do those things instead... THEN buy it). Good bedside book... alongside my Bible.