Book review: The Wave: In Pusuit of Rogues, Freaks and the Giants of the Ocean
“Except for luminous glints of turquoise at its peak, the wave was sapphire blue, gin clear, and flecked with white. If heaven were a color, it would be tinted like this.” This quote is Susan Casey’s description of seeing a wave up close at Jaws, a Maui surf spot known for huge dangerous waves.
At fifteen, my father gave me a 9ft Ole surfboard—it was too big for me and I could barely drag it down the beach. I wanted to look cool with it under my arm like all the surfers did and I wanted more than anything to be the girl that the Beach Boys sang about in Surfer Girl. It wasn’t going to happen, but that big board attracted surfers who wanted to help me get it into the water and teach me how to paddle out. I loved watching them catch the waves. Years later my love affair with Ocean waves and surfers really took off when I watched early surf films and saw the shots Greenough took inside the tube of pristine waves; their glassy faces a peek into another world. So when I heard about Susan Casey’s book, The Wave, I had to read it and she didn’t disappoint. It is the perfect blend of surf stories from some of the best big wave riders and the guys who help them make it out to those waves along with the guys who help in the rescues when the waves eat them up and spit them out; and a look into the history, physics, and science of freak monster waves that appear out of nowhere and cause massive destruction. Read this book and it will change the way you look at the seas around the world. An entertaining and educational 5 star read for anyone who loves the Ocean.
