Product Description

Surfing is a booming sport worldwide, with £15 million spent on it in the UK alone last year! This book follows the evolution of the piece of equipment no surfer can be without the Board! From the days of it s first discovery in Hawaii as a hardwood plank and olo board to today's Plastic Fantastic marvels, each stage of the boards evolution is shown in glorious colour photography, showing how surfing progressed from a little-known hobby to a multi-million pound worldwide extreme sport, and the development of the Surfboard as the perfect convergence of form and function. Accompanied with unique historical prints and historical illustrations (1950s redwood boards, for example) plus the latest surf photography this book will appeal to everyone: surfers, artists, designers, sports fans.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #321850 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-01
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

Review
This book is a beast and certainly one for the coffee table with its glossy photographs and sleek hardback designs. Marcus has done a sterling job of putting this book together and accurately describing it as the first ever history of the surfboard. Beginning with the huge Koa planks that the hawaiian's used to ride and ending with the dynamic shapes of today this book superbly and colourfully documents that evolution of the surfboard. --Pitpilot magazine

Ignore all the exclamation marks on the jacket and flyleaf, inside this is a serious (but never boring) look at the detail of the history of the surfboard from Hawaiian planks right up to the present day. The progression is clearly as natural and logical as every surfer s search for that magic board, and is beautifully presented. You could be happy just looking at the pictures, but this is one coffee table book that should spend a lot more time in your hands than on the table, because the prose is just as fascinating nuggets of absolute gold mined with a skilful hand. Surfboards come from the Fernando Aguerre Collection (a huge and varied one) and there are plenty of action and historical photos helping to tell the tale. I thought I knew quite a bit about the history of the surfboard, gleaned from years of reading surf mags and books, but this book is guaranteed to tell you many, many things you never knew. Did surfing really die off totally with the coming of the missionaries to Hawaii? Have you ever seen pictures and brochures from the Swastika Surfboard Company from California? Ever seen a picture of Marilyn Monroe (then still Norma Jean Baker) at a surfers beach party? Or the rubble of the Clark Foam factory? Get this book, there s all that and so much more. Riveting. --Surfgirl magazine

It s a cool look back at the most important piece of equipment in our sport, and deserves a place in every surfer s library. In a beautiful labor of life, love and energy, he [Marcus] has compiled the first actual history of this ocean icon (ancient Hawaiians surfed in homage to the sea s gods), from old time wave-riding redwood planks to the light-weight, vacuum-sealed technological marvels of the present. The Surfboard features stunning studio photographs, historical prints and engravings, and close-ups of surfboards ... Fascinating and essential, even if you don t go near the water. --Transworld Surf

Pack your passport and head for surf!From its ocean worshipping beginnings to the hedonistic delights of today the surfborad has always had a special place in the heart of man whetehr appeasing the Gods or trying to tame the might of the oceans. A truly global phenomenam. Every surfer be it of the coast of Cornwall, Australia, South Africa, or the east coast of America while taming the waves has in their haeds the image of riding the pipes in hawaii, sun-bleached hair, bronzed skin and the tale of the wave that got away. This book really caputures it all and some more. A well written book by Ben Marcus a wellr espected and written journalist for magazines such as Surfer and the Surfers Journal captures the essence and history superbly. Boards have shrunk in size somewhat from the super long olo board ( ranging form 12 foot to about 24 foot, for raylaoty only) made from solid wood to the modern light weight boards ( around six foot long) made from composite materials. It traces not only the development of the surfboard itself but the advertsiing, intruige and lifestyle that surrounds this sea, sun and sand culture. The text is well written that keeps you wnating more, and the illustrations/photographs are excellent. Well worth the cover price even if you don't surf now but bringing back the past, a 'wanna' be surfer or you just enjoy a simple object beautifully designed and crafted adorned with some really eye-catching artwork all wrapped up in an evolutionary and intriguing story. --Pinstriping UK magazine

It s a cool look back at the most important piece of equipment in our sport, and deserves a place in every surfer s library. In a beautiful labor of life, love and energy, he [Marcus] has compiled the first actual history of this ocean icon (ancient Hawaiians surfed in homage to the sea s gods), from old time wave-riding redwood planks to the light-weight, vacuum-sealed technological marvels of the present. The Surfboard features stunning studio photographs, historical prints and engravings, and close-ups of surfboards ... Fascinating and essential, even if you don t go near the water. --Transworld Surf

About the Author
Ben Marcus is a surfing obsessive. He left school and travelled the world looking for the perfect wave, and now edits The Surfer's Journal. He has written Surfing USA!, and contributes towards surfing guides worldwide.