Customer Reviews

Surfing San Onofre to Point Dume: 1936-1942

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I ordered this quite a long time, and don't understand what took me so long in reviewing it.

As others have said, this book is amazing. The photographs are simply timeless and beautiful. I can't quite describe the vibe that it captures or conveys, but I found myself somewhat saddened by the book. The pictures kind of struck a whole "Dead Poet's Socitey," "Carpe Diem" mood with me. At the same time, they conveyed the beauty of a time in California (or for that matter, the U.S.) that is forever lost and will never be recaptured. A time of innocence and naivete, before everything became so tainted, jaded, and overcrowded.

I don't know, maybe that's just a crock. At any rate, as a surfer of 20 years, this book really touched me. I think it will touch any fellow surfer, or for that matter, ocean lover.

Definitely pick this one up before it goes out of print (as these things so swiftly seem to do).

In the movie, Atlantic City, Burt Lancaster's character says with nostalgia, "You shoulda seen the ocean then." It was an ironically funny line. But in this lovely collection of photographs we do see the ocean back then, in a time when one could camp on the beach in privacy, feasting on abundant lobster & abalone. The 100 pound boards have a beauty of woodcraft no longer known in the sport, & the surfers ride them like boats, upright & confidently. They look so much like us. The women are pretty. The waves are works of art. Those distant surfers weren't environmentalists, but they, more than anyone, were witnesses to what is now lost. Don James was a genius even when he taking snapshots.

I've had this book for a while, and I'm ordering more for Christmas gifts.

I recently got the wonderful "Riding the Rails," about teens during the depression who hopped freights to go Huck Finning. My father did this and wound up hanging out at "The Big Rock," which wasn't in San Onofre, but in Malibu. But conditions were similar: then, you really could camp out on the beach.

Like an idiot, I let my Dad pass on before asking him the details of those years. Now, the best I can do are secondary sources. But these help me reconstruct a picture of that world of his that ended with World War II.

Around the world, there is a stereotype of Southern California, which is immediately dashed upon visiting Hollywood Boulevard. However, the stereotype isn't so much lie as anachronism.

There really was a world that matched the current anachronism that is still the image of Southern California. Get this book, and you'll understand what I mean.

The faces and images have me so stoked! I have new found repect for the pre-war surfers, they paved the way, building on Duke's foundation.It also gives such a good historical perspective on the pre-war So. Cal. surf scene. It's bittersweet to see that so many of these lives and times were to be selflessly lost in the impending war. It also shows what a utopic place it must have been before the yuppies & developers destroyed so many fabulous spots. Something that magic can never last, it seems.A must for any surfer or red blooded Californian. A delight!

There's a lot more to this collection than just surfing pics - in fact, they're in the minority. This book is a beauftiful photograph record of a time and place lost forever in the shifting sands of time. It would be appreciated by anyone who enjoys the history of California, beaches, surfing, photography, pre-WWII culture and nature.

This book is a collection of photographs taken in the late 1930's on the beach at San Onofre. It shows the innocent and fun times of the surfers, vagabonds and young people of that era whose lives would forever be swept away by World War II.

The subjects of the photos display a remarkable athletic naturalism, unlike the steroid artificiality of today. They surf, drink beer, and lay on the sand, ride the waves, enjoying life to the fullest-- splendidly isolated from the darkening events of the world.

Beautifully photographed in black and white with some color, it brings back a time before Southern California was choked by overdevelopment and young people could enjoy the sun, water and natural beauty of this state with fear of skin cancer, water pollution and violence.

The faces and images have me so stoked! I have new found repect for the pre-war surfers, they paved the way, building on Duke's foundation.It also gives such a good historical perspective on the pre-war So. Cal. surf scene. It's bittersweet to see that so many of these lives and times were to be selflessly lost in the impending war. It also shows what a utopic place it must have been before the yuppies & developers destroyed so many fabulous spots. Something that magic can never last, it seems.A must for any surfer or red blooded Californian. A delight!

Great pictures of a long-lost time. This book is filled with images of a coastline never seen by most surfers. Lobsters as big as your leg were routinely plucked from the ocean to feed these beach bums and their girls. Deserted breaks were the norm and life was good for those who knew. Post war sprawl and Hollywood movies would soon put an end to this idyllic time, but thanks to some intrepid photographers, this vision of heaven may still be enjoyed.

Although I was born quite a number of years after the photos were taken, I can vividly recall looking through my Dad's surfing photo's (taken by my uncle)from around the same time. Mr. James had a real knack for capturing California and the birth of west coast surfing. It must have been a wonderful time to be young.