The Encyclopedia of Surfing » (Reprint)

Matt Warshaw is the former editor of Surfer magazine and has been writing about surfing for more than twenty years. A surfer all his life, he competed professionally in the early eighties. Warshaw's articles have been published in the New York Times Magazine and the Wall Street Journal, and he is the author of several books on surfing. He lives in San Francisco.

If it's about surfing you're likely to find it in this book's 1,500 alphabetical entries on places, people, events, gear, history, culture, and terminology from the world of surfing. Warshaw offers a fittingly wide scope on the topic, considering that the human activity of riding on ocean swells may date back as far as 3,000 B.C. He details the ancient Polynesian roots of the modern sport, Greg Noll's first ride at Waimea, the creation of "Gidget," Kelly Slater's record-breaking title run, surfing cameos from movies, literature, and music, and the evolution of the surfboard itself. The brief listings range from several paragraphs to several pages and are written in an engaging and entertaining style. The book is illustrated with more than 300 black and white photographs. Warshaw is the former editor of Surfer magazine, and a former pro surfer. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Eastern Surf Magazine

"The most thorough, comprehensive guide to the sport of surfing ever."