Complete History of Surfing: From Water to Snow
Surfing is one of the most exciting and stunningly beautiful sports in the world. The modern surfer on his small plastic board is the product of a fascinating history of development. Nat Young, one of the world’s great surfers, has produced an illustrated history of the sport that is the most definitive and authoritative ever published. This book is the result of a lifetime involvement with surfing and a deep interest in its history. Nat has had discussions with the greats of the sport, from Duke Kahanamoku to contemporary stars like Kelly Slater, Mick Fanning, and Layne Beachley. He tells for the first time the real story behind the remarkable development of surfing, from the ancient Hawaiians to California in the 1940s and right up until today. Spreading around the world like wildfire, surfing is now a mainstream sport, connecting skateboarding, windsurfing, and kitesurfing. Nat also examines the exciting evolution from surfing to snowboarding, tracing the original innovators up to present times. To all this, Nat brings his personal knowledge and stories, and the inside expertise gathered in his years of a deep and passionate involvement with the sport.Nat Young is recognized as one of the great surfers in the history of the sport. He was born in 1947, grew up in Collaroy on Sydney Australia’s northern beaches, and won the World Championship in 1966 in California and the Smirnoff contest in Hawaii in 1972. He was several times Australian junior and open champion —he won his first open championship at Bondi at the age of 15. In the late 1960s, he and a handful of others ushered in the ‘new era’ in surfboard riding, a power-oriented style that forms the basis of contemporary surfing. In 1986 older surfers began to compete professionally on longboards. Nat’s unique style and good luck enabled him to become World Longboard Champion in 1988, ’89, and ’90. Today Nat is a dedicated surfer and family man with four children. He is the author of several books on surfing, including his autobiography Nat’s Nat and That’s That, and the how-to-surf book Surfing Fundamentals. He has produced two films, Fall-Line and The History of Australian Surfing.Front and back cover photographs © Jeff DivineJacket design: Black Eye Design, blackeye.com