WL Rating
From surfing’s preeminent historian Matt Warshaw comes another excellent surf history book. This one chronicles the life and mysterious disappearance of legendary surf photographer, Ron Stoner. Back in the mid-1960’s the socially introverted Stoner emerged on the surf scene as the best, most tuned-in photographer of the era. His photos are beautifully composed, providing perfect snapshots of timeless surfing, clean waves, stunning girls, and pre-development California. Warshaw mostly lets the photos do the talking, but he does begin each chapter with a summary of Stoner at a particular life stage. In these introductions we learn quite a bit about Stoner’s development as a person and photographer, however, we also watch as Stoner begins to slip into a type of schizophrenia. Like Australia’s Michael Peterson, Stoner descends into a self-imposed mentally damaged exile, mysteriously disappearing from the surf scene altogether, yet occasionally resurfacing via Elvis-style fabricated sitings. Fortunately for the reader, the bright, uplifting photos outshine Stoner’s dark end. Despite Stoner’s tragic story, this is a fascinating, enjoyable book to own and is a WL Essential. (December 2010)
