The Way of the Surfer: Living It, 1935 to Tomorrow

This full-color, coffee-table paean to surfing focuses on the surfing lifestyle. After his introduction,""Walking on Water,"" Kampion, former editor-in-chief of Surfer magazine, compiles profiles of such wave-riding greats as Woody Brown--the New York City-born surfer who pursued waves and freedom in Makaha, Hawaii--and Florida-born Kelly Slater, today's""Best Surfer in the World."" Tucked within the profiles are short pieces such as""Chaos and Anarchy,"" which discuss the rules of the surfer. In all, the book is a beautiful melding of narrative and photos--there are black and white photos from the early 1900s, when men and women would use redwood planks, and color snapshots of 1960s crowded California beaches with the waves rising beyond. Kampion captures the sport's rise in popularity for women, beginning with a two-page spread of a misty California beach for the 1964 San Clemente Surf Capades, to New School Grrrls, with world class champions Megan Abubo and Lisa Anderson. While this volume contains fewer pictures of breathtaking waves than most surfing glossies (nonetheless, it does include many), the photos and essays make for a wonderful history of the sport.