Review
WL Rating
There are many surfing anthology books out there that combine either true or fictional stories into a single volume. For example, Warshaw’s Zero Break is one of the better collections of surf fiction, whereas The Lost Coast is borderline unreadable. On the non-fiction side of things, The Big Drop is a pretty solid collection for big wave themed true stories. But in my opinion, all these books pale in comparison to Bruce Jenkin’s excellent book, North Shore Chronicles. Jenkin’s, a professional sportswriter, has written about nearly every sport you can imagine. Luckily for us, he caught the bug and turned his attention to the North Shore of Oahu. For the most part, the book is divided into chapters dedicated to North Shore hellmen, but occasionally he delves into ancillary topics. The first bio piece is on Ken Bradshaw. About a third of the way into it, you will realize that these guys are cut from a very different, almost primitive cloth. Primitive in the sense that they are satisfying a very primal, almost animalistic need to do what it is that they do. The stories on bodysurfer Mark Cunningham and bodyboarder Mike Stewart are just excellent. While some of the pieces have a slightly dated edge to them, it doesn’t take away from their overall effectiveness and enjoyability. In fact, there wasn’t a dud among the collection—an amazing accomplishment. Because this is the best collection I’ve read so far, it is definitely a WL Essential. (January 2010)
North Shore Chronicles - Bruce Jenkins
