Synopses & Reviews
Pavones, a town located on the southern tip of Costa Rica, is a haven for surfers, expatriates, and fishermen seeking a place to start over. Located on the Golfo Dulce (Sweet Gulf), a marine sanctuary and one of the few tropical fjords in the world, Pavones is home to a legendary surf break and a cottage fishing industry.and#160;In 2004 a multinational company received approval to install the worldandrsquo;s first yellowfin tuna farm near the mouth of the Golfo Dulce. The tuna farm as planned would pollute the area, endanger sea turtles, affect the existing fish population, and threaten the world-class wave. A lawsuit was filed just in time, and the project was successfully stalled. Thus began an unlikely alliance of local surfers, fishermen, and global environmental groups to save a wave and one of the most biodiverse places on the planet.and#160;In The Battle for Paradise, Jeremy Evans travels to Pavones to uncover the story of how this ragtag group stood up to a multinational company and how a shadowy figure from the townandrsquo;s violent past became an unlikely hero. In this harrowing but ultimately inspiring story, Evans focuses in turn on a colorful cast of characters with an unyielding love for the ocean and surfing, a companyandrsquo;s unscrupulous efforts to expand profits, and a government that nearly sold out the perfect wave.
Review
“In Search of Powder by Jeremy Evans is funny, irreverent, hedonistic, saucy, insightful, and ski-obsessed. Much like the ski bums detailed within.”—Rob Story, editor at large of Powder and Skiing magazines
Review
"A provocative new book."—Sam McManis, Sacramento Bee
Review
"[A] superb book about ski towns like ours."—George Shirk, Mammoth Times
Review
"Evans' book chronicles all this in fine details, gathered over several seasons of boarding and interviewing. He has all the history, all the names and all the places. If you're an ex-ski bum, this is required reading. If you remember those days, ditto. Or if you just like tales of men and women on the edge, give it a read. And keep an eye out for Evans, he's still riding our slopes."—Sam Bauman, Nevada Appeal
Review
"In Search of Powder is a comprehensive, well-written and well-reasoned homage to a lifestyle that many of us yearn for, secretly or otherwise."—Ted Holteen, Durango Herald
Review
"Evans tells the story of quintessentially American characters—rejecting materialism, taking risks, following their own paths—and of the glories and pitfalls their lifestyles present."—ForeWord e-newsletter
Review
andldquo;Congratulations to Jeremy Evans for telling the truest story so far about Pavones, the iconic end-of-the-road place where human greed and conflict threatened to destroy exactly what brought people there.andrdquo;andmdash;Drew Kampion, award-winning author and former editor ofand#160;
Surferand#160;andand#160;
Surfingand#160;magazines
Review
andldquo;Jeremy Evans tells the true story of surfers, tuna, drug lords, and jungle fever in the backwaters and blue bays of Costa Rica. For anyone who has traveled the surf coast of Central America,and#160;
The Battle for Paradiseand#160;is a must-read.andrdquo;andmdash;Serge Dedina, executive director of Wildcoast and author ofand#160;
Wild Seaand#160;andand#160;
Surfing the BorderReview
andldquo;The waves of Pavones rifle down a long left-hand point break, and for this reason they have become some of the most iconic waves in Costa Rica. However, as incredible as the waves are, the story behind the town is what will truly leave you gasping for air.andrdquo;andmdash;Kyle Thiermann, professional surferand#160;
Review
andldquo;Pavones, Costa Rica, lay in a bucolic slumber until an entrepreneurial American smuggler with a Napoleon complex paid cash for a county-sized chunk of its surf-swept coast and made himself king. Things spiraled out of control from there, subsiding into a tropical stew of escapists, surfers, squatters, greed, and long, clean lefts.andrdquo;andmdash;Steve Pezman, publisher of the Surferandrsquo;s Journaland#160;
Synopsis
CORRECTION:
Regarding the book, The Battle for Paradise by Jeremy Evans, the following correction has been made on page 163 in paragraph three (3) to wit:
Weston once worked in concert with government officials in a pre-planned sting operation, complete with marked bills: Weston, whose role in the operation involved paying a bribe to the Golfito mayor for a concession and then documenting the bribe as a way to expose the mayor as a corrupt government official, was a former cocaine dealer, according to Dan, and someone who illegally acquired possession of his sawmill property.
Pavones, a town located on the southern tip of Costa Rica, is a haven for surfers, expatriates, and fishermen seeking a place to start over. Located on the Golfo Dulce (Sweet Gulf), a marine sanctuary and one of the few tropical fjords in the world, Pavones is home to a legendary surf break and a cottage fishing industry.In 2004 a multinational company received approval to install the world s first yellowfin tuna farm near the mouth of the Golfo Dulce. The tuna farm as planned would pollute the area, endanger sea turtles, affect the existing fish population, and threaten the world-class wave. A lawsuit was filed just in time, and the project was successfully stalled. Thus began an unlikely alliance of local surfers, fishermen, and global environmental groups to save a wave and one of the most biodiverse places on the planet.In The Battle for Paradise, Jeremy Evans travels to Pavones to uncover the story of how this ragtag group stood up to a multinational company and how a shadowy figure from the town s violent past became an unlikely hero. In this harrowing but ultimately inspiring story, Evans focuses in turn on a colorful cast of characters with an unyielding love for the ocean and surfing, a company s unscrupulous efforts to expand profits, and a government that nearly sold out the perfect wave."
Synopsis
As a recent college graduate and fledging newspaper reporter in the Lake Tahoe area, Jeremy Evans became immersed in ski bum culture—a carefree lifestyle whose mantra was simply: “Ski as much as possible.” His snowboarding suffered when he left for a job in the Portland area; and when, at twenty-six, he suffered a stroke, he reexamined his priorities, quit his job, moved back to Tahoe, and threw himself into snowboarding. But while he had been away, the culture had changed. This book is Evanss paean to the disappearing culture of the ski bum. A fascinating look at a world far removed from the larger culture, it is also a curious account of a passion for powder and what its disappearance means. Evans looks at several prominent ski towns in the West (including Crested Butte, Jackson Hole, Telluride, Lake Tahoe, Park City, and Mammoth) and the ski bums who either flourished or fled. He chronicles the American West transformed by rising real estate costs, an immigrant workforce, misguided values, and corporate-owned resorts. The story he tells is that of quintessentially American characters—rejecting materialism, taking risks, following their own path—and of the glories and pitfalls their lifestyle presents.
About the Author
Jeremy Evans is a former daily newspaper reporter whose eight-year journalism career garnered numerousand#160;awards for his outdoor and sports writing. He is the author of In Search of Powder: A Story of Americaandrsquo;s Disappearing Ski Bum (Nebraska, 2010) and currently teaches English at Lake Tahoe Community College in South Lake Tahoe, California.