Good Things Love Water: A Collection of Surf Stories Ahrens, Chris M.

Review "Ahrens breathes life into surfing legends and makes them real to surfers who only know them as unapproachable icons." -- Greg Ambrose, The Honolulu Star-Bulletin "Eloquently written. Good Things Love Water is filled with the types of stories that we don't see often enough!" -- Nick Carroll, Editor, Surfing Magazine "Gremmie Warning! This book contains stories you have to read, and no rad action photos. It's about time!" -- Steve Pezman, Publisher, The Surfer's Journal "This book is important to understand the roots of the wave-riders lifestyle and philosophy." -- Christopher Van Tilberg, Islands Magazine Product Description Good Things Love Water is the story of surfing as told by a sea of different voices. The first waves ever ridden at Waimea Bay by Greg Noll, Mike Stange, and Mickey Munoz; Phil Edwards' first trip to Hawaii at age 15, the world of Bob McTavish, a beloved car owned by a couple of unknown surfers, and 21 other short stores are woven together in a sometimes dramatic, sometimes hilarious, sometimes tragic account of surfing's rich history. Chris Ahrens lays bare the hearts of our heroes and surfers we have not encountered until now. From the Author After 40 years of surfing and 25 years of writing about it, I realized that I had quite a selection of stories. While some of them were notes taken as a gremmie at the feet of his heros, others were about unknown surfers, ordinary people in sometimes extraordinary circumstances. In hindsight, the stories aren't really about surfing, but about the characters who inhabit societies' corners. That's why this book has been enjoyed by surfers and non-surfers alike. Joyrides is Ahrens' second volume of surf stories, and a third volume, Kelea's Gift, will be avaliable in the Spring of 2001. About the Author The son of a part-time surfer, Chris Ahrens began his own adventures in surfing in 1960. He was an inlander and at the bottom of surfing's vast totem, but soon began traveling to exotic locations in order to surf. Of course, the idea of making a living eventually entered the equation. It was then that Ahrens drew upon his story-teller background and began working for various surfing publications. Since that time, Chris Ahrens' name has appeared in every major surfing publication in the world. His surfing column, Waterspot, ran as a popular feature in San Diego's Blade-Citizen for eleven years, until the publiction traded hands. He has been a featured speaker at high schools, colleges and world surfing events, and his books have often been the subject of newspaper, radio and television reports. In 1982, he broke a world's record for orgainizing the most surfers ever to ride one wave, an event filmed by That's Incredible, and reported up by the surfing establishme! nt as well as United Press International. Living within view of one of Southern California's most consistent surfing spots, Cardiff Reef, Ahrens continues to surf on a nearly daily basis, as well as write for such prestigious publications as The Surfer's Journal. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Reading Instructions Get this book dirty. Take it to the beach, to Baja, or into the outback. Or, find a place that you loved as a kid. If you can't do that, go into your garage. The back seat of your car will do, or your bed, if it's full of sand. Do not, under any circumstances, put this book on the coffee table next to pretty volumes about "Napa's Wine Country." It is not to be read with shoes on, and you won't understand a word of it if your brain is being choked off by a tie. When you're finished reading, go out beyond the paved roads and mapped out surf camps, into the untamed world of surf. Surf hard.