Review

WL Rating

No one picks up a surfboard and rips. Everybody starts of as a kook. Kelly Slater, Tom Curren, Shaun Tomson....kooks, all of them, at least at the beginning. But, depending upon your level of commitment and access to good waves, you can rapidly move out of the kook category, or you can languish for years. Author Peter Heller decided in his late 40’s that he was not only going to learn to surf, but he was going to learn to surf well within a short amount of time. Being a persuasive writer, Heller convinces a publisher to back him, and he then spends the next six months in an immersive surfing experience. He starts off by learning to surf in Southern California. Once he’s got the basics nailed, Heller packs into a rickety RV with his girlfriend (who is also learning to surf), and the two head straight down into Mexico to hone their skills. His goal? To be riding solid overhead, barreling waves by the end of the trip (and to not get robbed, beaten or worse in Mexico). Heller is an entertaining, witty writer who manages to deliver the angst, joy and stoke that new surfers feel as they learn the sport. Along the way, Heller and his girlfriend connect with a colorful assortment of locals, instructors, mentors and nuts, all of which adds to the reader’s enjoyment of the story.  This is a funny book for surfers of any level, and the best portrayal of learning to surf that I’ve come across.  (April 2010)

Kook - Peter Heller

Details

Category: Non-Fiction

Reading Style: Easy

Pages: 336

Pub Date: 2010

Tags: Surfing