Synopses & Reviews
"Zero break" is a classic surf-world term referring to an offshore reef where the biggest and best waves form. In this anthology, editor Matt Warshaw has collected the biggest and best surf writing ever, including fiction, nonfiction, verse, cartoons, and screenplays. A must-read for any surfer or adventure lover, ZERO BREAK includes:
MARK TWAIN SUSAN ORLEAN
from Roughing It "The Surf Girls of Maui"
HERMAN MELVILLE JACK LONDON
from Mardi from The Cruise of the Snark
DANIEL DUANE JOHN MILIUS
from Caught Inside from Apocalypse Now
FREDERICK KOHNER BOB SHACOCHIS
from Gidget "Return of the Prodigal Surfer"
TOM WOLFE PHIL EDWARDS
from The Pump House Gang from You Should Have Been Here an Hour Ago
and more than 20 other selections
Including full-color photographs and artwork by SANDOW BIRK, ART BREWER,
JEFF DIVINE, RICK GRIFFIN, TOM SERVAIS, and others
MATT WARSHAW, the former editor of Surfer magazine and an ex-pro surfer, has been writing about surfing for over twenty years. The author of The Encyclopedia of Surfing, he lives in San Francisco.
Review
PRAISE FOR THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SURFING
"Fiendishly addictive . . . Comprehensive and compelling." -Sports Illustrated
"Warshaw is the very best sort of teacher, a passionate storyteller with a thirst for the richest details and a knack for bringing soul and character into each biography or bit of lingo."-Salon
Synopsis
The author of
The Encyclopedia of Surfing returns with this definitive anthology of the best-ever writing about surfing, illustrated with classic and cutting-edge photographs and artwork. Hip and eclectic, the collection speaks to surfing's widespread and longstanding appeal: from Mark Twain's nineteenth-century description in
Roughing It to Susan Orlean's essay on girl surfers in Maui and Tom Wolfe's "The Pump House Gang."
This anthology covers it all-from early surfing literature to descriptions of the sport's most colorful characters, from hair-raising tales of big-wave surfing to an exploration of surf culture.
Includes contributions by: R. Crumb, Daniel Duane, William Finnegan, Rick Griffin, Frederick Kohner, Jack London, Herman Melville, Susan Orlean, Charles Schulz, Mark Twain, and Tom Wolfe.
About the Author
Matt Warshaw is the former editor of Surfer magazine and has been writing about surfing for more than twenty years. 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. He lives in San Francisco.
Table of Contents
Introduction
ONE
THE MOST SUPREME PLEASURE: SURFING INTRODUCED
Captain Cook; excerpt from A Voyage to the Pacific
Mark Twain, excerpt from Roughing It
Herman Melville, excerpt from Mardi
Jack London, excerpt from The Cruise of the Snark
Lord Byron, excerpt from "Childe Harold"
Frederick Kohner, excerpt from Gidget
TWO
KAHUNA: SURFING CHARACTERS
David Rensin, "The Legend Lives: Finding Mickey Dora,"
John Milius, excerpt from Apocalypse Now
Garry Trudeau, Doonesbury
Allan Weisbecker, "Jock's Night Trip"
THREE
OUT THERE: BIG WAVES, LONG JOURNEYS
Dave Parmenter, "The Land Duke Forgot"
James Houston, excerpt from A Native Son of the Golden West
Rick Griffin, Murphy
Matt Warshaw, excerpt from Maverick's
FOUR
SURF CITY HERE WE COME: SURF CULTURE
Cintra Wilson, "Jesus Christ, Personal Friend of Surfing"
Tom Wolfe, "The Pump House Gang"
Charles Schultz, Peanuts
Susan Orlean, "Surf Girls of Maui"
Charles Rubin, "Surf Dudes of Beach 89"
Peter Spacek, N.Y.D.P.
FIVE
FISH OUT OF WATER: THE LANDLOCKED SURFER
Allston James, "Waterbed"
The Trade Winds, "New York's a Lonely Town"
William Finnegan, "Black Sea Blues"
Bob Shacochis, "Return of the Prodigal Surfer"
Derek Rielly, "Surfers of Fortune"
SIX
THE NINTH WAVE: SURF NOIR"
Eugene Burdick, excerpt from The Ninth Wave
R. Crumb, Salty Dog Sam Goes Surfin'
Kem Nunn, excerpt from The Dogs of Winter
Patrick Morgan, excerpt from Hang Dead Hawaiian Style
Joy Nicholson, excerpt from The Tribes of Palos Verdes
Anonymous, "Haole Go Home"
SEVEN
VOICE OF THE WAVE: WHY WE SURF
Phil Edwards, excerpt from You Should Have Been Here an Hour Ago
Daniel Duane, excerpt from Caught Inside
Surfer magazine, "Why Do You Surf?"
Thomas Farber, excerpt from On Water
John Kilroy, "Wave for Mickey Dora"