roseybot's review against another edition
4.0
Susan Casey is always interesting. I didn't really want a memoir type book, but I knew she'd throw in some science to get through the person bits, and that was really good.
jcschildbach's review against another edition
4.0
This is a pretty fascinating book, perhaps marred by the fact that I was two-thirds through it when Japan was hit by a devastating tsunami. That put me off the book for about a week, due to wave overload. Anyway, at first Casey's writing style seemed a bit hyperbolic to me, but then I settled into it, and it matched the subject matter well. She does a lot of magazine writing, and that is essentially what it felt like--sports writing. The book shifts back and forth between chapters devoted to surfers and chapters devoted to scientists. The surfers are trying to track down huge waves for tow-surfing (getting towed into waves by jet skis, as the waves are too big and too fast for surfers to paddle into or paddle back out of). The scientists have a variety of reasons for tracking giant waves, such as trying to develop more functional models of wave activity on the open ocean, trying to determine necessary construction standards for things such as oil platforms and ships, or trying to figure out insurance risks. There are amazing tales of destruction--from small Alaskan villages buried in a rush of water, to graphic descriptions of horrific surfing injuries--to keep things moving along. Casey clearly falls in love with the surfing way of life, as she tags along with tow-surfing innovator Laird Hamilton and his group of friends, but is also enthralled by the research and interviews with the scientists. By the end of the book, the surfing excursions had gotten a bit repetitive to me, and Casey only touched on some scientific topics that could have been the subject of their own chapters (harvesting wave energy), but this is definitely worth a look.
leslielikesthings's review against another edition
2.0
I guess I can't really fault the author too much for me not liking this one. It's not her fault that the book that she was interested in writing was not the book that I was interested in reading. When writing a book about giant waves, she wanted to focus largely on the surfers who devote their lives to riding them. She was clearly very impressed with them. The chapters that were devoted to maritime history - shipwrecks, etc. - or giant waves that ravage coastal areas were much more interesting, but she kept on bringing it back around to the surfers. Probably 60 to 70 percent of the book's focus was on the surfers, and I just didn't care.
maxrpt's review against another edition
4.0
Amazing writing, passionating people and adventure to learn about.
Really well depicted
Really well depicted
jamiep8571's review against another edition
4.0
This is the kind of non-fiction I love to read. Probably helped that I read it at the beach.
eric_conrad's review against another edition
5.0
Respect Water
Surfing books always impress me. The descriptions of the waves and the people who chase them are almost mythic. Both tap into something very primal and not well understood.
Surfing books always impress me. The descriptions of the waves and the people who chase them are almost mythic. Both tap into something very primal and not well understood.
alh118's review against another edition
4.0
I don't usually read books that anything to do with my PhD (because inaccuracies irk me) but I picked this book up on a whim and was impressed. It's a nice mix of science and sports, as strange as that sounds.
ejsidney's review against another edition
4.0
I had no idea that I was so interested in waves and the ocean. I have always loved the water, being in and near it. But the forces and personality of the ocean are fascinating. It was an easy read and enjoyable.
blevins's review against another edition
4.0
Mostly riveting non-fiction look into the world and science of rogue, or freak, waves that are increasingly happening in the ocean. As the earth warms up, the unpredictable, powerful waves increase and grow larger and more wild. THE WAVE follows surfers & scientists with the surfers being the more interesting group to me partly because some of the science is over my head (science--not my best subject in school or now). Casey tries to dumb the science down, but I'm still rather lost. I think she's a better "sports" writer than "science" writer anyway.
Casey gets rather cozy with a bunch of the surfers (Laird Hamilton among others) and it's almost too chummy whilst still attempting to write objectively about what these men (and a single woman from Brazil) try to do by surfing these waves. I let it pass since I'm so engrossed by the surfing subculture (took me further into the world that I loved in the documentary RIDING GIANTS a few years ago) of these big wave surfers as they try to ride 60, 70 and even 80 foot waves. Talk about raw power! An 80 foot wave is unimaginable to me. I am kind of frightened of the open ocean and reading THE WAVE makes me even more apprehensive of being in the endless void of the sea. Especially if there are massive waves threatening to kill you. No thank you.
Casey gets rather cozy with a bunch of the surfers (Laird Hamilton among others) and it's almost too chummy whilst still attempting to write objectively about what these men (and a single woman from Brazil) try to do by surfing these waves. I let it pass since I'm so engrossed by the surfing subculture (took me further into the world that I loved in the documentary RIDING GIANTS a few years ago) of these big wave surfers as they try to ride 60, 70 and even 80 foot waves. Talk about raw power! An 80 foot wave is unimaginable to me. I am kind of frightened of the open ocean and reading THE WAVE makes me even more apprehensive of being in the endless void of the sea. Especially if there are massive waves threatening to kill you. No thank you.