Customer Reviews

Force of Nature: Mind, Body, Soul (And, of Course, Surfing)

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book opened my eyes and at the same time confirmed some of the philosophies I have regarding health. Laird leads an amazing life and has an amazing attitude towards living. His words are very inspirational and at the same time his philosophies towards life deserve attention. Since reading his book I've started doing power yoga (vinyasa sytle), changed my weight routine over to his circuit training, and have made a few diet changes. The book is very easy to read and I found I did not want to put it down.

This book was not bad. There are a lot of pictures, but there is also some good info. Laird's nutrition and physical fitness routines are somewhat unrealistic for the average person that works at least 40 hours/week, but the principals are right on the money. His life experiences are from a man who has lived in Hawaii his entire life and has never had a real job. Although unrealist for most, it is interesting that a guy who was never a World Champion at his sport of choice(Surfing),has been able to create and live the life that he has. I don't even know if he ever was on the Pro Surfing tour. Laird is a fascinating character and if you know anthing about the guy, you will probably like this book. If you've never heard of the guy, you might not care for it.

This is not an autobiography. This is not a collection of stories from one of our planets best watermen. This is not a retrospective on an active exciting life. This is not a guide on how to marry one's personal passions with ones family. Any of those things would have been far more interesting and worth reading. This book is a haphazard collection of grocery lists, yoga poses, pictures of surfing, interviews with folks you've never heard of before and nutritional pseudo science. If you're into that, rock on you'll enjoy. Personally, this was a total letdown.

The first time I scanned through this book in the bookstore I saw a bunch of exercise routines and yoga poses and I passed on it because I'm not a gym guy.

However, I was at the bookstore again and had some time to kill so I took a second look. I read the first few pages and I was drawn in to his words. I recommend you read the Intro the next time you're in the bookstore to see if it's something you'd be remotely interested in.

I don't know, he just seemed to have a lot in common with the way I think and that's what piqued my curiosity. I really think to enjoy this book you need to have tried to learn something foreign in your life and really embraced it, not giving up no matter how hard it was. I think too many people take the "safe way" out in life and watch from the distance and comment on it. To those people, this book might be mildly interesting.

But Laird is no ordinary guy. He's done some insane things (if you don't believe it, just flip to the page that details all of his injuries). And although the book is an easy read, anyone who has faced similar (I use that term loosely) fears, challenges, or obstacles just gets it. You see how right on he is with his words.

When you get to step inside the mind of a man who has pushed the boundaries of what is humanly possible and in turn created new ways to look at it, you get a rare glimpse that few people have ever experienced.

What's funny is this book is mass published and can be purchased by anyone but I truly believe he poured his heart into this book and that's why I find this book so special.

My wife and I joke that he is a "life coach" just because he seems to cover so many topics and has something interesting to say about each.

I just think his book is fun. It makes me appreciate life and the environment I'm in. And by the way, his nutrition advice is really helpful. I feel much better throughout the day and I've slimmed down quite a bit too. I've even started doing yoga which I never thought I would do and am in such a better mood before I go to work now (which my co-workers appreciate).

Great book, easy to read. Simple advise that works. There is something for EVERYONE in this book - even if you could care less about surfing. I don't surf and Laird's outlook on life is one many of us could learn from.

The first thing you need to know is that this book is published by Rodale Press: glossy photos and generic glosses on what's personal, valuable and important in life, i.e., largely standard English, bromidic writing, with a strong commercial angle in mind.

Not that Laird Hamilton doesn't manage to put his own personal stamp on the final product; no, he actually does pull it off.

The book is tweaked to speak with Laird's own experience and voice. Laird Hamilton is sui generis after all, and because of this fact, the book is as much a testament to his being a force of nature as much as it is an inspirational how-to. The world is Laird's gymnasium.

To illustrate the commercial aspect of the book, however, Laird writes, "There's no such thing as not enough time.... So when I hear someone say they don't have time for fitness -- I'm not buying it.... That's messed up." That's fine. That is Laird himself speaking. But then, on the last page of the book, there's a list of Resources where you can buy all the stuff Laird references throughout his talk or writing, things like the Bosu ball he uses or the muscle milk he drinks.

The second thing you need to know is there are lots of photos of Laird in the book, colored ones as well as black-and-white. In some of these, he looks gorgeous; in others, he looks downright goofy. In still others, particularly while surfing, he looks like an indistinguishable, unrecognizeable and small figure or dot in the ocean. Interestingly, in the Forward to the book, Laird writes that it's a big world, but we humans are not so big. Maybe inserting photos that show the surfing celebrity as a human dot in the grand ocean was part of the author's plan.

Further inside the book, there's a section on circuit training (the standard stuff) and one on the power of Yoga (the standard poses). I admit I was surprised to learn that Laird advocates Yoga, but then, in reading the book, I learned Laird is a flexible athlete, both physically and mentally.

Laird's own personal twist on all these exercises is that he does not believe in routine or doing the same exercises or circuits over and over again. He advocates changing it up in order to challenge the body regularly, and he especially wants you to pay attention to the moment as well as to the body such that in doing the circuit, for example, he wants you to exercise more than just one muscle at a time but get lots of sleep afterward. Laird likes 8 to 10 hours a night himself.

There's a section on raw food eating ("Don't Eat Dead Food," i.e., raw milk), including a recipe chapter with lots of color photos of food, and there's a section on the supplements Laird recommends, including the use of the dubious colloidal silver, which Laird claims to take only topically, not internally (as the quacks recommend). While Laird does recommend eating raw butter and raw milk, the recipes for salmon, for example, do involve heat and baking. It's clear that there's nothing fixed or rigid about Laird's recommendations or plan. He's clearly a self-confessed meat-eater, not a vegetarian.

There's a small section on his wife and children (3 girls), too.

The very last few sections of the book contain surfing tips with not-so-special technical knowledge offered such as "To become an advanced surfer, it's critical to know ho to use your upper body in conjunction with your lower body."

Overall, Laird Hamilton ultimately wants the reader to understand that you need to have fun with your life and stay in tune with fun. Lastly, he wants the reader to know Pe'Ahi is his girl and will always be his girl, with all due apologies to wife and daughters.

The book reveals that Laird Hamilton is a total athlete. You can read about him; you can follow his recommendations; you can be inspired by him; but it's clear you can never match him. He's non-pareil.

Found the book on a late night talk show, decided to get it from the library. It was so inspirational that I have since (4 months ago): bought it, started running and quit smoking after 15 years (3 months now). I feel more focused at work and feel better now that I am sleeping more too.

Surfing is irrelevant to a city boy in the Midwest but I love this book.

Great book, Laird is my hero!!

The smoothie recipe is the best thing out of this book. I use it regularly.

Those of us who know of Laird Hamilton know that he has succeeded and done very well in the world of surfing and stretching the boundaries of that sport to a level previously thought impossible. Surfing is not one of those sports where you sign a multi-million dollar contract and then get the adolation of millions of fans. Instead, it is a sport where you become who you determine you will become through hard work, dedication and diligent effort, usually without great financial rewards - true commitment and love of the sport. Laird's book is not great literature, but it something much more - it is a reassurance that all those basic things we learned as we learned how to get good at stuff, we need to continue doing to remain good at stuff and get good at new stuff. Laird's book is simply all about commitment, focus, attitude and doing what it takes to achieve exactly what it is that YOU want to achieve. It is also an very pleasurable and motivating read.
Having spent over 20 years as a corporate executive, finally at the CEO level, I stepped back (some migh say dropped out) and took a look at what is important to ME. Larid's book validates doing that and gaining focus on my interest and desires as well as pushing to achieve those goals I had put off for years. Goals like learning how to ride the Pipeline, getting back in the middle of an old-boys scrum and racing crits once again are things that I must do NOW in order to not get down the road and wish, with regret, that I'd done them after achieving my business goals. In other words, this book validates my decision to take my life back, get out of the office, give up the power, breath the air and live again.
I strongly recommend this book to anyone who has aspirations of taking anything to the next level; Anyone who has a goal and is trying to figure out how to achieve it or is constantly making excuses for not achieving a goal even though it is achievable - with a little (or a lot) of work. Getting the Mind, Body and Soul to work in harmony is equivalent to getting a orchstra to sound fabulous, only on a very personal level. Personal Satisfaction is achieved, not handed to anyone. Laird's book guides one throught the process of taking the right steps, developing the right attitude and not waivering in achieving Personal Satisfaction.
I strong recommend this book to the youngest of readers as well as those seasoned old dogs like me as well as everyone in between. Live life to the fullest, follow the guidance provided in the book and you will Succeed at the goals you set for yourself. If you focus and push, there will be no excuses for failure!

There is so much to get from this book about life, philosophy, physical training skills, and surfing. It's straight forward, to the point and leaves you wanting to get your life going in the right direction. Every page has something you can apply to your life, even if you're not by the ocean.