Toronto-born journalist and author, Susan Casey tells the stories of big wave surfers and oceanographers, from Hawaii to Alaska to the tip of Africa. The book reveals the science of waves, i.e. giant water (the largest wave ever recorded is 1740 feet high!) including the challenges waves pose to shipping, and the stories of a group of surfers she shadowed for her story. She also interviews scientists exploring the danger that global warming will bring us more and larger waves. She makes the world of big wave surfers and the jargon of physicists engaging. It was interesting to join the world’s legendary surfers in their world. An approachable, engaging read. For more about the author: http://www.susancasey.com/

I viewed interviews of Susan Casey with Jian Ghomeshi and John Stewart and I was intrigued, then someone lent me The Wave. The Wave is an interesting book about the science of waves (ocean current fluid dynamics) and big wave surfing. It highlights, in layman's terms, the present study of ocean waves and offers some shocking statistics regarding the frequency of large waves and their effects on the environment and the shipping industry. To keep things simple, Casey briefly discusses wavelength and period, which may leave some readers wondering about frequency, amplitude, phase velocity and group velocity, but they are essentially beyond the scope of this book and unnecessary given that the title indicates that we are looking for evidence of massive waves - waves so big that science can't fully explain them. Further, the book documents the fascinating and somewhat esoteric world of the big wave surfer. We get a glimpse into the lives of several veteran big wave riders. Casey describes their exploits at various areas around the globe and - spoiler alert - it's pretty crazy (like, totally dude). The book is broken into sections that discuss the "science" of waves and the "art" of riding them, and it's an interesting mix throughout the book. Casey is no slouch when it comes to descriptions, so we get fairly vivid face, body, and geographic mental images from her writing. You can improve the experience by reviewing many of these locations on a map, particularly the North shore of Maui (if you don't know where that is, then definitely get a map). The midsection of the book offers some tasty pictures of big waves, surfers, ships and damage caused by waves. The Wave offers an interesting parallel between the geeky scientist and pro surfer. The scientists have their own community, with conferences, debate and analysis, and the surfers have their own version of the same thing with contests, funky language and cliquey group dynamics. The clear difference between the surfers and scientists is funding: many of the surfers bemoan the popularity of their sport or their favourite location, yet this is what drives the surfing industry and the sponsorship marketing that provides them with their exotic livelihood. It's kind of hard to "keep it real" while competing to be on the cover of every surfer magazine. Conclusion: take a look at a big wave surf video (youtube will do) and imagine what that sheer volume of water is like to ride or study, and imagine the kind of people that study it and ride it, what are their motivations, feelings, and experiences - to find out, you can start by reading The Wave.

One of my top books. Informative, gripping and oh so well written. Author weaves fact with story beautifully. A must read for anyone interested in our oceans!

Casey writes about the biggest and scariest waves on earth. She talks with scientists and the obsessed "big wave" surfers, and gives you lots of information about oceanography and hydraulics. If you like the frisson of imagining yourself on a 2 or 3 inch thick piece of fibreglass waiting to catch one of these giant waves, you will like this book. It gave me the same kind of chill as "Touching the Void", "Into Thin Air" and "The Perfect Storm".

The subject material is outstanding: rogue waves; bulk carriers destroyed in seconds to slip into the depths without so much as a mayday signal. After reading Winchester’s Atlantic I wanted more. But oh my. After just a few riveting pages of near disaster near Rockall, the author’s style undergoes a sea change. All of a sudden she adopts a first-person style that, in my opinion, is better left for more popular writing that writes with a wider audience in mind: sort of like a National Geographic style. Don’t get me wrong --- I love national geographic. It is good at what does and, over the years, it has brought the world to a much larger audience. But I’m still of the opinion that that approach works for a relatively short article but I didn’t like it for a whole book. And then there’s all that surfing stuff. Yes I get it: waves=surfing. But it’s not what I was looking for. After I’d skipped over all the stuff I didn’t like, I had a skinny pamphlet about waves rather than the book I was expecting. Oh well, at least this in one book that goes back to library without being overdue. My opinion: this book merits barely a ripple.

Great mix of science and story telling. A fun read with some scary ideas! 1000 foot tsunamis!

review here: http://greenbookreviews.ca/2011/02/the-wave/

review here: http://greenbookreviews.ca/2011/02/the-wave/

Hundred-foot waves are not just a surfer's dream--they are also the subject of international study. Susan Casey connects athletes and physicists in this fast-paced, well-written, and well-told account. This would interest young adults, too.

Great read: informative, fast paced and fun.