The Wave

In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean

By: Susan Casey

Narrated by: Kirsten Potter

Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

From Susan Casey, bestselling author of The Devil’s Teeth, an astonishing book about colossal, ship-swallowing rogue waves and the surfers who seek them out.

For centuries, mariners have spun tales of gargantuan waves, 100-feet high or taller. Until recently scientists dis​missed these stories - waves that high would seem to violate the laws of physics. But in the past few decades, as a startling number of ships vanished and new evidence has emerged, oceanographers realized something scary was brewing in the planet’s waters. They found their proof in February 2000, when a British research vessel was trapped in a vortex of impossibly mammoth waves in the North Sea - including several that approached 100 feet.

As scientists scramble to understand this phenomenon, others view the giant waves as the ultimate challenge. These are extreme surfers who fly around the world trying to ride the ocean’s most destructive monsters. The pioneer of extreme surfing is the legendary Laird Hamilton, who, with a group of friends in Hawaii, figured out how to board suicidally large waves of 70 and 80 feet. Casey follows this unique tribe of peo​ple as they seek to conquer the holy grail of their sport, a 100-​foot wave.

In this mesmerizing account, the exploits of Hamilton and his fellow surfers are juxtaposed against scientists’ urgent efforts to understand the destructive powers of waves - from the tsunami that wiped out 250,000 people in the Pacific in 2004 to the 1,740-foot-wave that recently leveled part of the Alaskan coast.

Like Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air, The Wave brilliantly portrays human beings confronting nature at its most ferocious.

©2010 Susan Casey (P)2010 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Something is stewing in our seas, and Susan Casey - traveling, and in some cases swimming, all around the world - is eager to find out what it is. Both a rollicking look at the ocean’s growing freakishness and a troubling examination of our ailing planet, The Wave gives new meaning to the term ‘immersion reporting.’” (Hampton Sides, author of Hellhound on His Trail, Blood and Thunder, and Ghost Soldiers)

“At once scary and fun, The Wave surprises at every turn.” (Elizabeth Kolbert, author of Field Notes from a Catastrophe)

“Like the surfers and scientists she profiles, Casey lived and breathed giant waves for years. Casey combines an insane passion for craft with an uncanny ability to describe the indescribable. In The Wave she whisks the reader off to unimaginably surreal settings and puts them in the middle of mind-blowing scenarios. This book sucked me in like the undertow at Pipeline.” (Mary Roach, author of Stiff and Packing for Mars)

Totally enjoyable in every way!

From every perspective, this is a fantastic book. It is a non-fictional book, with the interest and fun of a fictional one. The narrator has a authorative voice for the non-fiction aspect and a authentic voice for the accents she gives the stories real life characters: everyone from the marine scientists, to the Lloyds of London insurance agents and to the surfers that have ridden these previously unconfirmed giant rogue ocean waves. Instantly became one of my favorite books. I highly recommend it to everyone, with and without a science education or background.

Great ride

This was a fun read for a life long mariner! Fast passed and well written.

Amazing book - drop the accents!

Love this book, I have read it several times, and am now onto multiple listens. Susan Casey is amazing at weaving a truly informative narrative.
The narration… great - but for the love of all things (and this applies to almost every American narrator) give up on Australian accents. YOU CANT DO THEM AND ITS BEYOND CRINGE WHEN YOU TRY AND FAIL!

Great data. Almost zero cultural awareness.

Incorrect pronunciations and exclusions of women abound. I hope the author will consider revising this book with updated and more inclusive language. It’s awful to think how women tow-surfers must feel listening to this. It’s like Ms. Casey doesn’t know they exist. And please, just ask someone from the places you’re talking about how they pronounce their own names. Haleakala, for instance.

nice mix of surfing, science and seafarers

What is great about this book is how Susan Casey brings the oceans to life through the eyes of great surfers, scientists, and seafarers. Not a dull moment in the book. Kirsten Potter's narration was first rate.

A Wonderful Book

I just loved the book and the narrator even more. And as a former merchant seaman and someone who has experienced such unusual wave activity, the book brings it all home.

Move as far inland as possible

What made the experience of listening to The Wave the most enjoyable?

The story was gripping. It clearly painted the picture of being in the ocean with gigantic monsters crashing down around you

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Wave?

There were many, many memorable moments, but towards the end talking to Laird Hamilton while sitting on a jetski at Egypt was very compelling.

Have you listened to any of Kirsten Potter’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made my jaw drop in amazement.

Any additional comments?

Everything about this book was good, EXCEPT... Kirsten Porter really, really needs to learn how to pronounce gunwale! She repeatedly pronounced it like gun whale. The word is pronounced guhn-l. It made me question if Porter had ever been on a boat.

I have new respect and (fear) of ocean...

Would you consider the audio edition of The Wave to be better than the print version?

I like the audio in general and I never read this book in the print

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Wave?

stories about lardge wave surfers

What about Kirsten Potter’s performance did you like?

good job in general

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It scared me...

Awesome!

What a great ride! For surfers and lovers of the ocean Susan Casey’s book is the best answer to anyone who asks, “why surf?”

If you liked Born to Run...

Then meet "The Wave." Another sports-related book that looks at the science, economics and personalities around big wave surfing. You come away feeling all-around smarter about the ocean, more fired up about surfing and inspired by these wave-riding cowboys who push their bodies and mankind to the limits.