Eight Surfing Books

Top photo from late 1800s print showing Hawaiians riding boards on small waves, from Surfing, a History of the Ancient Hawaiian Sport.  In contrast, Gerry Lopez goes tubular at Moneytrees in G-Land circa 1980. Photo from his book Surf Is Where You Find It.

Summer is here but not many waves. It's time to re-wax your surfboard, repair your dings and take a book to the beach, or find a quiet spot beneath a tree. Going through my limited library of surfing books, I've enjoyed re-visiting various yarns about the ancient sport that has fascinated ocean lovers for centuries. Herewith, are eight books that I suggest are worth a read, or at least a look-see. You don't need to surf to enjoy a good story.

Mike Doyle rides a thick comber at Sunset Beach, 1966. At top with his Trestle Special, 1960, Santa Monica

1. Morning Glass, the Adventures of a Legendary Waterman by Mike Doyle

Full of life and total stoke, Doyle tells his story of learning to surf growing up in Southern California in the 1960s and then going to Hawaii to challenge the waves of the islands, the origin of surfing. No artifice here, Doyle opens his heart and it's full of colorful characters, the onset of commercializing surfing and the pure joy of the sport. Doyle represents the heart of the ancient sport of kings. Next to the great Hawaiian, Duke Kahanamoku, Doyle was its greatest ambassador. And this is his rip-roaring tale. He died of ALS in 2019 at age 78. We are so lucky that he wrote this book. Includes cool, historical photos. Mike Doyle deserves the number one spot.

Rell Sunn and Gerry Lopez win the female and male Ala Moana Junior Surf Championships, 1965

2. Surf is Anywhere You Find It by Gerry Lopez

Appropriately known as Mr. Pipeline in the 1970s, Gerry Lopez demonstrated the consummate art of surfing during his era: maintaining casual composure while blasting through the famous hollow barrels of the signature wave of the North Shore of Hawaii. A lifelong practitioner of yoga and son of a newspaper man, Gerry writes clearly about growing up in the islands and going to surf near his grandma's home on the far west shore of Kauai, among other adventures, with a variety of photos. If Mike Doyle represented the stoke of surfing, Gerry Lopez represents surfing's coolest customer.

3. Barbarian Days A Surfing Life by William Finnegan

Finnegan is a writer by trade and a surfer at his core. And we are fortunate for it. His graceful prose takes us on a journey chasing the ephemeral essence of waves, where they're found and who would be the first to ride them. Think Hemingway with a modern twist: a wave to machismo instead of a bull. Finnegan has written in The NewYorker about the Mexican cartels with the bravado of one who challenges the greatest forces of nature. This is the story of his passion which lies in the ocean. You don't need to surf to enjoy his journey.

4. Tapping the Source by Kem Nunn

Novelist Kem Nunn is a voice for surfing's underbelly, the James Ellroy of surf writers. His fictional tale goes to the dark side of the subculture to meet the seedy characters who make wave-riding their cultish religion. Of his three surf-themed novels (includes Dogs of Winter and Tijuana Straits) -- all of which fall into the category of surf noir --consider Tapping the Source his book of Revelation. The title alone evokes the diabolical core of surfing's genesis. If you want to ride that particular wave, Nunn spins a compelling yarn, and deserves an audience.

Miki Dora stylin' at Malibu back in the day

5. All for a Few Perfect Waves by David Rensin

Known as Da Cat for his smooth, athletic style, Miki Dora was a scammer, a renegade, a thief, an out-spoken racist and a talented rider of the longboard during the 60s. Author Rensin chases the infamous surfer during Dora's days on the lam, which makes for a fun, intriguing ride. Dora was the colorful bad boy of surfing and the first to express his disdain for the commercialism of the sport, while at the same time filling in as an extra during the filming of the most commercial surf flick of his day, Gidget. "The best long boarder I ever saw," according to the late Santa Cruz surf legend Johnny Rice, talking about Miki Dora the legend.

6. The Gentlemen's Hour by Don Winslow 

Novelist Don Winslow has built his reputation by writing fictional tomes about the Mexican drug cartels (The Border Trilogy) as well as exposing the illicit doings of the New York City Police Dept. (The Force). His fiction is authentic and gritty. Before he dove into deeper waters, Winslow wrote a series of crime novels based around the surf scene in San Diego, California. The Gentleman's Hour represents this period. His dialog laced with abundantly cool surf slang brings his wave-riding characters to life, coupled with his talent for good story telling: like a tasty burrito with extra salsa.

Pipeline and nearby breaks on Hawaii's north shore. Photo from Welcome to Hawaii...

7. Welcome to Hawaii, Now Go to HELL by Chas Smith

Chas Smith is a punk, and he's not afraid to prove it through his own self-absorbed prose and posturing. A writer for Surfing magazine, Smith gives an honest appraisal of what's going down on the North Shore of Oahu where all the surf heavies hang and ride ridiculously powerful waves. He dishes the lowdown on the sponsored houses where team riders stay within ocean-spray of said crunchers. His in-your-face style of reporting evokes memories of the late gonzo master Hunter S. Thompson. The book comes with choice colorful photographs of the place and characters. Steal it if you have to.

In 1868, according to legend, Holoua rode a tidal wave to shore on a plank he tore from his house. Painting by C.P. Cathcart, from the book Surfing, a History...

8. Surfing, a History of the Ancient Hawaiian Sport by Ben Finney and James D. Houston

A soft-cover, coffee-table book, Surfing, a History... travels back in time to surfing's origins in Polynesia where some historians speculate the possibility of human beings riding waves 2,000 years b.c. We have record of humankind surfing in the Pacific Ocean 1,000 years ago. This compendium of information published in 1966 is based on research, including from the archives of the Bishop Museum and the Hawaii Maritime Center in Honolulu. The book is full of wonderful historical photographs, engravings, prints and the extra bonus of excerpted writings of Mark Twain, Jack London and Herman Melville. Who knew these guys were writing about surfing?