Classics That Left Their Mark on Surfing and Ocean
Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel
SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel always pick some cool books to read on hot summer days. This year we chose beach book classics that left their mark on surfing and the ocean. Fiction. Nonfiction. Great reads – to read again or for the first time.
Gidget, by Frederick Kohner (1957), the coming-of-age story of Franzie, "the little girl with big ideas" who falls in love with surfing, jump-started the sport into a national craze. Kohner, an Austrian-born Hollywood screenwriter/novelist, turned the stories that his daughter Kathy told him about the surfers she was hanging out with in Malibu into a book that became a worldwide sensation. Launching the blockbuster Gidget movie, countless beach movies, and the California surfing lifestyle.
Kathy Kohner Zuckerman, the real Gidget (girl midget) on whom this landmark novel is based, has become a leading voice for surfing.
Jaws, by Peter Benchley (1974), the shark vs man bestseller, made everyone afraid to go in the water. And became a Steven Spielberg mega-hit movie known for the line when the Great White Shark appears: "You're gonna need a bigger boat." Depicting the vastness of the ocean and its mysteries, the book keeps readers in suspense wondering when the shark will strike next.
Benchley, an avid sailor/diver, wrote several bestsellers made into movies. The Deep about treasure hunters; The Island with a journalist captured by modern day pirates; Beast about a terrifying giant squid. Despite writing such scary ocean novels, Benchley became a strong advocate for sharks and sea life.
Eddie Would Go, by Stuart Coleman (2004), tells the story of Eddie Aikau, the most famous North Shore lifeguard on Hawaii's Waimea Bay in the 60s/70s. A pioneer of big wave surfing, Aikau saved over 500 people in daring surf rescues, paddling out in monster waves. Locals coined the phrase "Eddie would go" in honor of his bravery.
Aikau died in 1978 paddling on his surfboard to get help for his crew mates on the Hokule'a catamaran when it capsized off Molokai on a voyage recreating the ancient route the Polynesians traveled to Hawaii. The prestigious Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational Surfing Championship celebrates Aikau.
Grayson, by Lynne Cox (2008), champion open water swimmer, is a memoir about her teenage encounter on an early morning swim in the Pacific Ocean with a lost baby whale and the bonding experience they shared as Cox desperately tried to reunite the whale with its missing mother. It beautifully illustrates the connections between humans and animals and how nature can affect us.
Cox set two records swimming the English Channel and brought the U.S. and Soviet Union together (1987) during the Cold War by swimming in the frigid waters of the Bering Strait linking the two superpowers. Her aquatic experiences come through in her books. Yoshi, a sea turtle on a remarkable journey; Tales of Al the Water Rescue Dog; Swimming to Antarctica; Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas about an elephant seal who adopts a New Zealand town.
The Dawn Patrol, by Don Winslow (2009), is a detective novel featuring San Diego P.I./surfer Boone Daniels. An important case has come up at an inconvenient time...when a big swell is heading up the coast with epic waves. Filled with California surf culture, bestselling author Winslow creates the perfect blend of surfing and crime story with a plot as fast paced as the pounding waves.
Known for hard-hitting novels, Winslow has written more than 20 acclaimed books, including another Boone Daniels book The Gentlemen's Hour. Dawn Patrol gives shape to the idealized surf dream of being a beach bum crime-fighter, existing on fish tacos, and enjoying early mornings (dawn patrol) in the surf lineup.
Kook: What Surfing taught me about Love, Life, and Catching the Perfect Wave, by Peter Heller (2010), is the story of National Geographic Adventure writer/author Heller's journey to become a surfer. Filled with bumps along the way, Heller – with the help of California surfing instructor extraordinaire Michael Pless – masters surfing and learns to respect its culture. In this exuberant wave of self-discovery, he turns the name “Kook” from a derogatory term into an accolade about what it really means to be a surfer.
Heller (shown here with SurfWriter Girl Sunny and Michael Pless) has written many books. SurfWriter Girls favorite is Celine, about a 70-something private detective as sharp as she is stylish.
Exciting. Adventurous. Humorous. Whatever the story, each of these beach classics has earned a prime spot in SurfWriter Girls summer literary lineup, leaving a significant wake in the ocean to mark its spot.
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Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.
