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)

Gnarly

This book only confirmed my fear of waves! The ocean is getting bigger, vertically. Doomed

Scientific enough

Okay so it is not chock full of science, but it is scientific enough for someone who had a few geology classes in college to be reacquainted with familiar terms and events. The book also follows some interesting surfers and their experiences riding giant waves. Personally I thought it was a nice mix of people and science. For any geology teachers out there, this book has extra credit written all over it.

Great book!

I have read this book once and listened to two times. Both the writing and the reading are wonderful.

A great mixture if science and romance!

Gnarly!

This was an awesome book, full of knowledge. The storytelling was wonderful. It transported me back to watching big wave breaks as a kid growing up in Maui.

Very exaggerated science and anecdotal information.

The reader amplifies the exaggerated tales and school girl crush for Hamilton. I would not recommend this book if you are looking for science of waves, although there is some wave physics in the book. It does a good job of identifying some of the largest wave locations, but trails off to eye witness accounts (not accurate science), and lost ships due to global warming.

Great book for the waterman in you.

Enthralling! I’ve read it once and listened twice. Enjoyed it every time good writing and story telling

Great beyond expectations

Thank you. As a 72 year old past surfer (Cali) I lived vicariously through the words and realized. I could never do what the tow surfers do, but it was so fun to listen in to your description of the events
Scott R. Adishian, D.D.S.

Mentally Relaxing

I've just finished three books on the financial meltdown so this has been a welcomed diversion. It's a travel log/ tow surfing intro/ wave science intro and the subject matter is light. I find the reader excellent which is important with audiobooks.

The perfect mix of science and stories

Where does The Wave rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It would rank among one of my favourite books all time.

What other book might you compare The Wave to and why?

Similar to John Krakauer. The author documents their research, while telling a story, to complete a journey.

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?

Just pure enjoyment. I learned a lot. I was inspired. I was awed and amazed.

Capturing throughout, very well written.

I listened to 'The Wave' while sailing my 28ft sailing boat from The Bahama's to Louperon, Dominican Republic. It was great to listen to throughout the nights, and a little eerie to think of what was going on in the deep depths below my little home. With no land or anyone else in site, I was completely en captured in 'The Wave'. I highly recommend it, especially to friends sharing a similar experience.