Pipe Dreams: A Surfer's Journey [Hardcover]

Kelly Slater (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 29, 2003

Chronicles the surfing career of Kelly Slater, including childhood memories, experiences on World Tours and during competitions, his personal life, and tributes to close friends who lost their lives surfing.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kelly Slater is a world-champion surfer who came out of semi-retirement in 2002. When he has time he sings with his band, The Surfers. He owns the Kelly Slater Boardrider's Club, a clothing and surf shop in Los Angeles, where he lives.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: HarperEntertainment; 1st edition (July 29, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060096292
• ISBN-13: 978-0060096298
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,028,843 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pipe Dreams, may haunt you, February 11, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Pipe Dreams: A Surfer's Journey (Hardcover)

For readers expecting the champ to keep pace with the ever-increasing quality of surf literature, you are in for a disappointment. The only conclusion I can come to is that this was written for pre-teens. I believe even they would be left wanting more. I felt as if I was reading a chronological timeline of surf contest results while sprinkled in were tidbits of interesting relational, or situational, anecdotes that were never developed or cut short. This man's story could have gone into so many interesting directions but one direction was never made clear. So why the three stars anyway? Because he has given us the first roughly hewn look into some personal experiences that shaped him.
All the raw paragraphs did expose the champ as someone less enviable, maybe a little less balanced out of the water, but with one internal drive: his competitive nature. Between these pages are the things he cares about most. We are witness to a man in development and someone still searching. This biography leaves the reader feeling they have received an unedited glimpse into Mr. Slater's life. An interesting segway that needs to be explored further is the story of the changing of the guard. I know that Kelly Slater was at the heart of a revolution in the way competitors viewed each other, as friends, as fellow artist and musicians, and as renaissance men. This revolution changed the face of surfing forever. I know because I have seen the difference in surf literature and films and in the water. Mr. Slater, thanks for the effort, but you still have more to offer us, in and out of the water.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good, July 31, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Pipe Dreams: A Surfer's Journey (Hardcover)

I really enjoyed this book. The basic story of Slater's life is interesting, but his honesty about his feelings is what I enjoyed most. It's easy to think that guys who tackle huge waves never know a timid moment in their lives, but Slater's comments about his feeling timid against big surf, and feeling timid on dry land in the form of having a shy personality when he was a kid, were reassuring to someone like me who certainly has felt fear in the water and was a shy kid, too. (Slater was voted "best looking" at his high school, so in a way his shyness didn't MATTER, since girls came after HIM. I wish I'd lost my virginity as young as he did! But nonetheless, his honesty about his feelings are endearing and interesting.) And if you're a surf nut, just reading his take on approaches to surfing, his experiences with different breaks, and his evolvement as a surfer are interesting. Sometimes it feels like THE MATRIX where Neo/Slater blows it a lot during the learning process, but it's those mistakes that make for a rapid learning curve. P.S. Aug. 2, I had Kelly sign the book yesterday at the U.S. Open in Huntington Beach, after he introduced Tom Curren at the ceremony where Curren impressed his feet and hands in cement. I told Kelly I'd finished the book and liked it, and he said, "Thanks a lot," but seemed maybe a little disbelieving, since the book had only been published a couple days before. But I did read it in only a couple days...because it's a good read.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Every Sport Has a Superstar..., August 28, 2003

By 

Colin Mueller (Ocala, Florida USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pipe Dreams: A Surfer's Journey (Hardcover)

...and ours is Kelly Slater.

In this Biography, the reader is given a glimpse of the life of one of the worlds most unique and impressive individuals in and out of the water. From his formative years growing up in the pre-condo housing boom of Cocoa Beach to the home of friend and renaissance man Jack Johnson on the North Shore. We are delved into the competive psyche of what drives this six time world Champion.

What made this book stand out, was that Kelly unabashadley opens himself up to the reader. Discussing his family issues with his mother and father. As well as personal relationship issues with friends and girlfriends. Add this to his vivid insight on his feelings and descriptions of various tournaments and surf spots around the world and you have a book that truly encompasses the world of Kelly Slater.