Rating: 
Summary: Brilliantly Entertaining Biography by a Gifted Young Writer
Review: "Eddie Would Go" was recommended to me by a friend who is an avid surfer. He insisted that Mr. Coleman's biography of Eddie Aikau was an engrossing page-turner.I must admit that I agreed to read this book with a great degree of skepticism. Not only do I know little about the sport of surfing, I have never visited Hawaii, and I had certainly never heard of Eddie Aikau. It did not take long for my skepticism to disappear. Mr. Coleman's wonderful abilities to bring Eddie and the customs of Hawaii and its surf culture to life immediately had me transfixed. His brilliant account of this Hawaiian legend/myth is a true page turner. I urge all readers out there to spread the word about "Eddie Would Go". If it does indeed "catch a wave" of popularity, it may well do for surfing what "Seabiscuit" recently has done for the sport of horseracing. Stuart Coleman is truly a gifted young writer that we should continue to watch in the future. I cannot wait for his next book, regardless of subject matter!
Rating:
Summary: Brilliantly Entertaining Biography by a Gifted Young Writer
Review: "Eddie Would Go" was recommended to me by a friend who is an avid surfer. He insisted that Mr. Coleman's biography of Eddie Aikau was an engrossing page-turner. I must admit that I agreed to read this book with a great degree of skepticism. Not only do I know little about the sport of surfing, I have never visited Hawaii, and I had certainly never heard of Eddie Aikau. It did not take long for my skepticism to disappear. Mr. Coleman's wonderful abilities to bring Eddie and the customs of Hawaii and its surf culture to life immediately had me transfixed. His brilliant account of this Hawaiian legend/myth is a true page turner. I urge all readers out there to spread the word about "Eddie Would Go". If it does indeed "catch a wave" of popularity, it may well do for surfing what "Seabiscuit" recently has done for the sport of horseracing. Stuart Coleman is truly a gifted young writer that we should continue to watch in the future. I cannot wait for his next book, regardless of subject matter!
Rating:
Summary: Brilliantly Entertaining Biography by a Gifted Young Writer
Review: "Eddie Would Go" was recommended to me by a friend who is an avid surfer. He insisted that Mr. Coleman's biography of Eddie Aikau was an engrossing page-turner. I must admit that I agreed to read this book with a great degree of skepticism. Not only do I know little about the sport of surfing, I have never visited Hawaii, and I had certainly never heard of Eddie Aikau. It did not take long for my skepticism to disappear. Mr. Coleman's wonderful abilities to bring Eddie and the customs of Hawaii and its surf culture to life immediately had me transfixed. His brilliant account of this Hawaiian legend/myth is a true page turner. I urge all readers out there to spread the word about "Eddie Would Go". If it does indeed "catch a wave" of popularity, it may well do for surfing what "Seabiscuit" recently has done for the sport of horseracing. Stuart Coleman is truly a gifted young writer that we should continue to watch in the future. I cannot wait for his next book, regardless of subject matter!
Rating:
Summary: A GREAT CHARACTER STUDY OF A HAWAIIAN HERO
Review: A WONDFUL BIOGRAPHY OF EDDIE AKIAU, AND A GREAT OVERVIEW OF THE SURFING TIMES HE LIVED IN AND THE START OF THE HAWAIIAN SOVERIGNTY MOVEMENT.
A VERY QUICK READ BECAUSE IT IS WELL WRITTEN AND VERY ENGROSSING. I HAD HIGH HOPES WHEN I PICKED IT UP AND IT SURPASSED EVEN WHAT I HAD HOPED. ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I HAVE READ IN A WHILE.
Rating:
Summary: A GREAT CHARACTER STUDY OF A HAWAIIAN HERO
Review: Eddie Aikau is someone that everyone should definately know about. This book is a wonderful place to start. Eddie was a phenominal surfer and lifeguard. He risked his life countless times for people who didn't respect the ocean as much as he did. He had a respect for people that not too many people do nowadays. Coleman does a great job of digging into Eddie Aikau's life, talking to the people who loved and respected him, from his family and friends to fellow surfers. This book is a glowing tale of a man who had so many different sides to his personality, and so many different talents and skills. Coleman also paints a vivd picture of the Aikau family. It's no wonder that Eddie was the type of person that he was. He came from a family where he was raised on love, strong moral values, a work ethic, and confidence. Eddie Aikau and his family are the type of people that other people should strive to be. Not too many people on the mainland know about Eddie Aikau,but they should. It's a tragedy that he is no longer on this earth with us, guarding the beach at Waimea bay, where he saved so many lives.
Rating:
Summary: An inspiring book
Review: Eddie Aikau is someone that everyone should definately know about. This book is a wonderful place to start. Eddie was a phenominal surfer and lifeguard. He risked his life countless times for people who didn't respect the ocean as much as he did. He had a respect for people that not too many people do nowadays. Coleman does a great job of digging into Eddie Aikau's life, talking to the people who loved and respected him, from his family and friends to fellow surfers. This book is a glowing tale of a man who had so many different sides to his personality, and so many different talents and skills. Coleman also paints a vivd picture of the Aikau family. It's no wonder that Eddie was the type of person that he was. He came from a family where he was raised on love, strong moral values, a work ethic, and confidence. Eddie Aikau and his family are the type of people that other people should strive to be. Not too many people on the mainland know about Eddie Aikau,but they should. It's a tragedy that he is no longer on this earth with us, guarding the beach at Waimea bay, where he saved so many lives.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating biography from a very gifted writer
Review: How's this for a myth? A handsome young man grows up on a beautiful island, living close to nature. He finds a slab of spear-like board and discovers he can use it to challenge waves bigger than anyone thought could be tamed. He rides them flawlessly as they thunder and crash around him. Even his daily life is extraordinary: He patrols beaches to save those who venture out too far --- and no one dies, ever, on his watch. Then comes a mythic opportunity to recreate an ancient voyage. Soon after the double-hulled canoe sails, however, it runs into trouble. Our hero volunteers to swim 12 miles across choppy water to get help for his mates. He sets off --- and is never seen again. But this is no myth. It's the life story of Eddie Aikau, the 32-year-old Hawaiian waterman who died in l978 trying to save his shipmates (who, as it happened, were all rescued a few hours after he started swimming for shore). And what a story! Start with a kid as handsome as Jason Scott Lee, as athletic as Duke Kahanamoku and as soulful as Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. He loves the water so much he drops out of school at 16. At 21, when he's not much known as a surfer, he shows up at Waimea Bay and triumphs over 40-foot waves. Suddenly he is in the Pantheon of big-wave surfers. And stays there until his death. It was inevitable there would be a book about Eddie. And that it would be called EDDIE WOULD GO --- the phrase other watermen used to describe Aikau's unrelenting willingness to leap into deadly surf to save swimmers in trouble. What was not inevitable? That EDDIE WOULD GO would be written by someone as gifted as Stuart Coleman. A writer, teacher and surfer, he strikes just the right balance between Eddie's life on land and his heroics on the water. He tells a double story well: courage and integrity on the water, a spiritual quest on land, as Aikau pondered what it meant to be a Hawaiian in a rapidly changing world. Forty foot-high waves. Normally brave surfers standing on shore. And one surfer --- Eddie Aikau --- smiling as he and his board become one with the water. It's an image that will warm you on cold winter nights. And, in summer, make you just a bit more respectful of kids on surfboards, dreaming of glory. --- Reviewed by Jesse Kornbluth
Rating:
Summary: a book to cherish
Review: I am grateful to the author for giving us Eddie Would Go. Not only is it an enduring and haunting telling of an extraordinary hero, but also an insightful account of Hawaiian way of life, of aloha, spirit and pride. Anyone who desires to learn more about the Hawaiian people and their feelings throughout the renaissance years will appreciate the author's in-depth interviewing.
It's also a fascinating look into the world of legendary surfing.
Eddie Would Go is an unforgettable story -- a story you'll be proud to know.
Rating:
Summary: a book to cherish
Review: I am grateful to the author for giving us Eddie Would Go. Not only is it an enduring and haunting telling of an extraordinary hero, but also an insightful account of Hawaiian way of life, of aloha, spirit and pride. Anyone who desires to learn more about the Hawaiian people and their feelings throughout the renaissance years will appreciate the author's in-depth interviewing.
It's also a fascinating look into the world of legendary surfing.
Eddie Would Go is an unforgettable story -- a story you'll be proud to know.
Rating:
Summary: Marvelously Researched and Told
Review: Like about a million other surfers I had heard Eddie's story. But foolishly, probably cynically, my first impression was to assume that he became famous more from his tragic death (which stemmed from his heroic attempt to save his fellow boatmen) than from what he had done with his life. After all, no one can deny that the circumstances of his death alone were deserving of icon status. Instead I found that Eddie was a hero way before he died. A man of phenomenal spirit, accomplishment and selflessness. I hang my head that it took so long for me to know the true story of Eddie and I praise the author for telling it so well. If you think you know Eddie, read the book, you will find you only knew a sliver of what was really there.
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