Perhaps most frightening is the fact that nine of the world's ten largest cities are located on low lying land.Īnyone picking up The Wave and hoping for a comprehensive scientific examination of waves will be disappointed. What is certain though is the impact that a single massive wave can have, as illustrated by the the destruction of Alaska in 1964 (the book was written before the recent Japanese earthquake). Nobody can precisely predict just what will happen to sea levels or to the frequency and height of rogue waves in the future. These accounts make a nice change of pace from the adrenaline fuelled antics of the surf junkies even if the interviews with the climate scientists and salvage experts are as terrifying as anything the surfers can throw up. Despite the dangers of death, and that danger is ever present, even in surf that doesn't seem especially dangerous, Hamilton and co make jumping down an 80ft wave seem seem perfectly natural.ĭotted amongst the jaw dropping accounts of the big wave surfers are a number of chapters that look at the science of the wave. This purity of purpose shines through and Casey provides some real insight into the desires of the big wave surfer. The knowledge that you did it is satisfaction enough. “Like the proverbial tree falling down in a forest, if you ripped down a 100-foot wave and there was nobody to take a picture did you really surf it?”. The pure surfer doesn't have to tangle with Schrodinger's Wave. He surfs because he loves it, not because he's out for a fast buck. That Hamilton has turned his back on the undoubted riches he could make if he joined the surf circus makes his feats all the more impressive. Bigger waves waves have turned surfing into big business ($7.5billion by some estimates) complete with multi-million dollar sponsorship contracts, wave riding contests and even an Oscars style awards ceremony. Thanks to jet skis, surfers can now attempt to ride waves considered impossible just a decade ago. From Hawaii to Mexico, South Africa to Tahiti, Casey follows Hamilton and a small band of big wave junkies scouring the seas for the supreme swell. The focus of The Wave, other than the ocean itself which makes a pretty compelling case to be the star of this and any other water centred book, is Laird Hamilton, a man who has devoted his life to the pursuit of the perfect break. So what is it that makes some men, and it is mostly men, go in search of these oceanic monsters? That is what Susan Casey tries to find out in this engaging, often awe inspiring and sometimes terrifying look at the world of big wave surfing.

They're powerful enough to capsize unsinkable ships, wrench oil rigs from their moorings and can destroy vast swathes of coastal regions, flattening everything in their path and killing thousands of people in the process.

The wave casey