The Encyclopedia of Surfing | 
 enlarge | Author: Matt Warshaw
Creator: William Finnegan
Publisher: Harvest Books
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $2.74
You Save: $22.21 (89%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 488545
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 816
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.5
Dimensions (in): 10.2 x 8 x 1.7
ISBN: 0156032511
Dewey Decimal Number: 797.3203
EAN: 9780156032513
ASIN: 0156032511
Publication Date: November 7, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: New-Has Remainder mark. Fast shipping from trusted wholesaler with many exclusive publisher contracts.
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Amazon.com
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
Product Description
Now in paperback and updated to include forty new entries, this "leviathan of surf literature" (Surfing magazine) is a remarkable collection of expert knowledge, spine-tingling stories, and little-known trivia. With 1,500 alphabetical entries and 300 illustrations, The Encyclopedia of Surfing is the most comprehensive review of the people, places, events, equipment, vernacular, and lively history of this fascinating sport by "one of surfing's most knowledgeable historians" (San Francisco Chronicle).
Each year, the surf industry brings in $4.5 billion, and more than two-and-a-half million Americans, from California to Delaware, have caught the wave. The Encyclopedia of Surfing is a book that no surfer-or armchair adventurer-will be able to resist.
(10/01/2003)
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| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
Fun, fact-filled book February 13, 2008
This was the book I was looking for when it came to all things surfing. Everything from history, boards, type of surf, how to surf, surf lingo, and great pictures: it's all there.
GREAT! January 7, 2008
I bought this for my boyfriend last year and he is still reading it. It is a great book for the coffee table and it keeps you going back for more. It has everything related to surfing in a great layout.
Loaded with info! December 26, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I bought this for my eight-year-old son. He has gotten into surfing recently and can't stop talking about it. He is just getting better at reading, and although this book has a lot to read (which is a plus for those wanting to look up anything about surfing), he is more willing to practice reading when it comes to a subject of interest, so he'll open it up and look up whatever questions pops up in his mind about surfing. Great book!
A MUST HAVE FOR ANY SURFER January 28, 2006
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
If you are a surfer or interested in learning anything about the history and names in the sport past and present then you should immediately buy this book. Two copies. Matt Warshaw does an excellent job of detailing almost every major and minor aspect in the history of the sport from onshore wind to "nat young" to "new jersey". There are small black and white photos throughout the book as well. I guarantee you will learn alot from reading just one letter of the alphabet. After reading this book, you can start to talk like Sam George. Highly informative and hard to put down.
The only review written by a 46-year-old woman in the Midwest January 27, 2006
1 out of 13 found this review helpful
Or so I presume.
This book has the best history I've seen on Pacific Ready Cut Homes and that's why I purchased it. I'm the author of "California's Kit Homes" and had a devil of a time finding information on this Los Angeles-based company.
I bought "The Encyclopedia of Surfing" and was pleasantly surprised to find information about the company that brought us the Swastika Surfboard. Yes, they made wonderful (and heavy!)surfboards, but did you know they also made and sold 40,000 kit homes before they got into surfboards? (BTW, one Pacific Ready-Cut house had 30,000 pieces of house and a 75-page instruction book - and you thought putting together a VCR stand was tough.)
I also browsed other parts of the book and found it to be an informative and well-researched book.
Rose
author, California's Kit Homes
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