A Brief History of Surfing

By: Matt Warshaw

Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin

Matt Warshaw knows more about surfing than any other person on the planet, as evidenced by The History of Surfing, Warshaw's definitive take on the sport. Now he has honed that book into an abridged and excerpted edition for surfers everywhere. Each spread features a micro essay alongside an image capturing a slice of surf history, from Kelly Slater and the invention of the thruster to shark attacks and localism. A Brief History of Surfing deftly defines surf culture in an entertaining and irresistible volume with wide appeal.

©2017 Matt Warshaw (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

An excellent listen

Warshaw is an incredible surf historian. This book is well researched and insightful for surfers and non surfers alike. If you are familiar with the sport some of the inaccurate pronunciations are a bit humorous. I can’t say enough about Warshaw and hope Audible puts out more of his work. Maybe a channel from Encyclopedia of Surfing or Above the Roar?

Good info, terrible pronunciation

The history of surfing is a massive textbook of the granular details of surf history. This very abbreviated version was a fun listen, I just wish the narrator would have asked someone how to pronounce words he wasn’t sure of, especially the Hawaiian names and places.

Cliff's Notes for Surfing History

Warshaw is one of the top surf writers and the book is true to its title. It covers all the major highlights of surfing history from start to 2018. If you find an area of interest and inspiration from this book, there are many avenues to investigate & Warshaw names many of them. It's a great introduction to surf history and/or a highlight reel.

Mixed Feelings

As an East Coast surfer for 60 years there was nothing new for me in this intensively researched book by Matt Warshaw.
What bothered me were some glaring omissions.
Among these : where is mention of Florida’s Mike Tabling ? Probably the best East Coast surfer of the 60’s ( not the obnoxious self promoting Gary Proper)and our version of the West Coast’s Mike Doyle who is also overlooked.As for the women, no mention of Rell Sunn is sacrilege , and where is Frida Zamba? Probably the best surfer ever to
come out of Florida until Kelly Slater arrived on the scene
Minor gripes would include some explanation of what makes good surf( are the words “ offshore winds” ever mentioned?)
No mention of the great surf to be found in Central America or at Puerto Escondido