Review
WL Rating
My youngest son and I saw Keith Malloy’s solid movie Come Hell or High Water at the Proof Lab in Mill Valley last year. The beautifully shot movie is the first full-length film I’ve seen that really delves into the sport of bodysurfing. The Plight of the Torpedo People is the movie’s companion book. This excellent coffee table book is full of gorgeous bodysurfing photos shot above and below the water line. There is also a selection of essays from the movie’s crew and bodysurfers. While most of the essays were excellent, the one from Ocean Beach’s Judith Sheridan is by far my favorite (and yes I’m biased since I regularly see Judith out bodysurfing). Her descriptions are pure poetry, capturing the essence of being in the water as a surfer on any vehicle: “Being bumped by fish. Being bumped by something that is not a fish...Hearing dolphins chat then go silent as they approach a crowded peak, as if they are telling secrets and they think we can understand.” The photos, the essays, it’s all good. This is a great book to put on your coffee table. Get it. (January 2013)
Plight of the Torpedo People - Tom Adler
