Customer Reviews

Surfing USA!: An Illustrated History of the Coolest Sport of All Time

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Surfing USA!: An Illustrated History Of The Coolest Sport Of All Time is the definitive history of surfing in America by Ben Marcus (past editor of publication "Surfer" for ten years and author of articles on surfing in 130 issues of that magazine). Having grown up adjacent to the surfing beaches of southern California in the 1970s, Marcus was present through all the big developments in the sport of surfing. His comprehensive and beautifully illustrated history shows how the sport developed, the science of "big waves", surfer personalities, the evolution of surf boards, and the creation of a surf culture from movies to rock 'n' roll to hot rodding. Of special note are the impressive photographs of surfing memorabilia, movie posters, album covers, and pop art thematically showcasing the sport of surfing. Surfing USA! is a strongly recommended contribution to school and community library American Popular History reference collections -- and a "must" for all surfing enthusiasts!

Having grown up near the best surfing beaches in Southern California, I'm always skeptical about illustrated books that take on that culture. Before I opened the book, I had a test in mind. Would Dick Dale appear in the book? For those who aren't early surfing aficionados, Dale was a surfer who captured the sound of the waves while surging in such favorites as "Let's Go Trippin" and "Miserlou Twist" while rocking everybody out of their socks at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa with the loudest guitar music anyone had ever heard up until that time.

I was blown away when I found that this book has more material in it about Dick Dale than any other that I've seen. Dick actually appears on no less than 18 pages in the book. Wow!

Having found what I was looking for, I sat back for a pleasant day of reliving old memories . . . and learning new facts.

Ben Marcus takes us back to surfing's origins in Polynesia and carries that forward the latest and greatest accomplishments of today's surfers. You will find out about how the boards and surfing methods developed . . . and get a five story wave view at the same time.

If the book has a weakness, it's in spending perhaps a little too much time on the many lousy surfing movies. But even that was redeemed by some great writing about the surfing stunts . . . especially the wipe outs that were done on cue for take after take after take.

As you can imagine the photography is wonderful. The only way you could improve is by replacing the gorgeous color shots with video.

Having just spent a day at Sunset Beach in January, I was also curious as to how up-to-date the book would be. I felt like I was walking right back onto Sunset to watch the Pipeline as I read through the book. It sent chills up my spine like when I'm at the Pipeline.

For non-surfers, I think you'll get an idea of why perhaps you, too, should catch a wave.

I just received the book and just started to dig in. This is a must for anyone that has a love for surfing and surf culture. Surfer/writer/journalist/historian Ben Marcus knows the sport and lifestyle from the inside out and it shows in this densely illustrated, richly written book. Strongly recommend! Surfing USA!: An Illustrated History Of The Coolest Sport Of All Time would make a great gift... to yourself or to the surfer in your life. Two thumbs up and ten toes over!

There are no pictures from the earliest days fo surfing, cameras hadn't been invented when riding the waves first developed in the pacific islands. But just about everything from the time cameras were invented has been included in this book.

It's basically a love affair with surfing. It's got illustrations of people serfing (that's no surprise I guess) but the things like record albums, movie posters, decals. Here's the Beach Boys, Annette (who didn't get off the beach) and Frankie, Gidget of course who started it all, and Elvis. Here are the stories, the champions, the music -- basically the story of the pioneers of the surfing culture.

This is a beautifully done book, well illustrated and with enough of a story to present the history of the sport.

Great book. Highly recommended for those who have surfed. My son was delighted that I purchased one for him from Amazon and that it was shipped directly to him in Virginia.

I got this book for my soon to be 12 year old nephew who's lives in Newport Beach and already surfs many times a week. But he won't get a lot out of this book. Why? It's more a story of the culture around Surfing (particularly when it was popularized in the mid sixties) than a story of how the sport evolved. There's lots of nostalgia to enjoy if you're 58 years old like me and grabbed your first wave in '63 but, I also know Surfing's history inside out and there's too much missing here to rate this book highly. Any book that supposedly tells the history of Surfing and neither Phil Edwards or Nat Young are mentioned but actress Barbara Eden is 3 times is laughable.........