Customer Reviews

We Approach Our Martinis with Such High Expectations

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Note: this book is mostly photographs and images, with very little text. Not that there is anything wrong with it, it's just that I expected a lot more reading material. The book took me less than an hour to read cover to cover.

Jamie Brisick has a brilliant eye and a cunning voice. His photos are candid, casual, low-tech and shot from the hip. Coupled with the words you get a postcard of depth, substance, insight and anthropological observation. The Fiji stories call to mind Paul Theroux's tales of the South Pacific--a journeyman's diaries opened up to the public. There's a story about a surfer who loses his sight and gains a newfound love of life--inspiring and life-affirming. There are short sketches of marvellous feats attained by surfers. Best of all is a first-person dance down the main avenues of Crnaval in Rio de Janeiro. The book jumps from palce to place, subject to subject, and ends up in New York where the author confesses that the book has been perverted by a pair of sex-crazed neighbors. Funny, lighthearted and worthwhile.

how can one human being have done so much in such a short time? it's like the universe just throws amazing experiences at jamie, and we're lucky enough that he's an incredible, dedicated writer and photographer who records them for us. i was born to have this book on my shelf. now if i could just get it autographed.

I accidentally stumbled upon this book and I am so glad that I have. The photography is incredible and the descriptions inspiring. It made me want to pack my bags, hit the road and live. The book doesn't talk at or down to you but like a good tour guide leads you on an incredible journey that you don't want to end. It's comforting to know that their are explorers still wandering the globe, digging for moments and sharing with you the fruits of their treasure. Thank you Mr. Brisick.

I am an American living in Italy. I was raised on the beaches of Santa Monica and Malibu, California. It was a stroke of good fortune that I happened on this beautiful book. Jamie Brisick is a wise, modest, experienced free thinker, the kind of guy that sometimes - but not often, comes off of those same beaches. His photography is stunning, his stories compelling and the humanity and freedom of his style really gets to you. I bet my Euro that we will be hearing more of Jamies Brisick.

i enjoyed the pictures and really liked reading some of the short stories. there's a lot of joy in this book. it's not heavy or overwhelming. it's more like heaps of affirmations about living and travelling and keeping a good spirit. i've been sharing it with friends and they all seem to enjoy it. -a.b.

antonin artaud, michelangelo, jean cocteau, salvador dali, serge gainsbourg, rudy valentino...these are talented people who have touched us in the past, operative words being "in the past"...are you ready to break into the new world of higher thought, ascending imagery, futuristic filosophy....then buy this book. and give money to the next beggar you see on the street. and kiss your loved one. and call your mother to tell her you love her.

"We Approach Our Martinis with Such High Expectations," has presented us with yet another format for surf literature: the slide show. Jamie Brisik narrates the adventure in a voice dripping with texture to tell us that surfing is about more than what happens in the water. It is also about what happens between the sheets, between disappointment and triumph, and between man and God. Brisick's crisp lens brings to focus the smelly details no matter where they might lead him. All the varied scenes managed to fall into an expression of the more fragile side of the human condition. He voices a challenge to everyone and seems to be more sympathetic to the places and experiences he had than to any audience. This conversational read was done in a voice only earned through years seriously searching for the answers to timeless questions. Though not offering concrete answers, the poetry reveals that it is not for a lack of reflection.

sensível, inteligente, leve e criativo...
é um daqaueles livros que você abre e lê de uma vez, mas mantem ao alcance do braço porque já sabe que vai ter vontade de ler trechos pra sempre!

Could a boy falling from the sky be a more appropriate cover for a book that reads more like a diary confession than the average book you find on the shelves... ? Jamie Brisick has achieved a personal height here. I read his work in Surfing magazine for years which was average and moderately entertaining. His book comes from the heart. A hundred times deeper than previous texts. This book is like a perfect blueprint for anyone wanting interested in communicating the journey into the interior. Well done.