Synopses & Reviews
"A voodoo wave." "The Everest of the ocean." What surfer in his right mind would choose to surf Maverick's with its 50-degree murky water, 60-foot faces, punishing rock bottom, and shifting Central California currents over riding the warm, blue, big waves of Hawaii? But Maverick's presents a surfing challenge like no other. Each winter, starting in October, an elite corps from around the world journey to Maverick's to test themselves on its cold, forbidding wavesbecause challenge, above all else, motivates the big-wave surfer. With heart-stopping photography and an exceptional, driving text, Maverick's tracks the 1/2ve most dangerous days in the break's history, including its first casualty: big-wave celebrity Mark Foo, who died on the morning of his very first visit. Surf journalist Matt Warshaw weaves into this vivid record the complete and unconventional history of big-wave surfing, from its ancient Hawaiian origins through to the modern drama of tow-in surfers. Like Into Thin Air, Maverick's promises to transcend its core audience, appealing to the huge armchair market that is enthralled by the sporting life lived at the extreme of danger.
Review
Waves aren't measured in feet, but in increments of fear. Big-wave rider Buzzy Trent
Synopsis
With its massive faces, punishing rocks, and treacherous currents, Maverick's presents a surfing challenge like no other. Author Matt Warshaw has updated his critically acclaimed illustrated history of Maverick's to cover important recent developments, and we've added a fresh new cover to kick this edition off in style. "A fascinating account," to quote Surfer magazine, it takes "a cue from Sebastian Junger's The Perfect Storm...Warshaw focused on a single event...and expands on it to illuminate an entire culture and its world beyond waves." The event was the death of celebrated surfer Mark Foo, one of those who congregate every winter to test themselves in the dark, foreboding waters. And what unfolds in Maverick's is no less than the story of big-wave surfing, from its ancient Hawaiian origins to modern tow-in riders. It's a book to be enjoyed not only by those who surf deep in the waves, but also by those whose taste for adventure is satisfied deep in the pages of a very good book.
About the Author
Matt Warshaw has been writing about surfing for more than 20 years. Former editor of Surfer magazine, his articles have appeared in Outside, Esquire, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. He is the author of several books on surfing, including The Encyclopedia of Surfing and lives in San Francisco.
Daniel Duane is a surfer, naturalist, and critically acclaimed author of Caught Inside: A Surfer's Year on the California Coast. He has written for Esquire, the New York Times Magazine, the Los Angeles Times Magazine, Men's Journal, Outside Magazine, and the Village Voice, among others. He lives in San Francisco.