On a Wave

Rating:
Summary: Raves for Waves
Review: Excellently written, "On A Wave" effectively evokes the angst of growing up and searching for identity. To classify Thad Ziolkowski's memoire a book about surfing is an injustice. It is much more. A rich and rewarding read.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent story. Well-written, funny, poignant
Review: I am so sorry this book is over. It was a pleasure to read. Thad Ziolkowski is such a wonderful writer. His story is witty, eloquent, and moving. I have never had much interest in surfing, but that didn't change my enjoyment of the story. I particularly relished the parent-child dialogues and the amusing, self-deprecating recollections of childhood cognitions.

Rating:
Summary: an engrossing, vivid memoir
Review: I'm not a surfer, never even thought about surfing much, but once I started this book I couldn't stop thinking about it. Ziolkowski's book is a very deftly written story about coming to know the world through a focus on one thing -- the wave, in all its shifting, complicated, living grace. By studying that one thing with all his heart, the writer finds a way through the ordinary struggles of coming of age, but through some extraordinary ones, too. ON A WAVE artfully evokes a time and a place, and also a time of life. It's one of the best new memoirs I've read for a while. It really does share some of the strength and character of Frank Conroy's STOP TIME, which is serious praise indeed.

Rating:
Summary: Best of the surf-book bunch!
Review: I've read all of the surf-related books (including those offered here by Amazon), and I have to say this is the best! Great writing and imagery quickly took me back to my time in the surf, which is almost the same timeline as Thad (except on the other coast). Also note some early reading of Slater's "Pipe Dreams" looks to be a contender.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant and deeply moving
Review: This was one of the best books I have ever read. The descriptions and prose were perfect. The writer brings you into his world in a way that anyone, especially someone of his era, can understand. I wish there was more! I was an avid surfer in Southern California, as a kid. But then came college, a job, life in a big city, marriage, kids, and soon you just forget about the surfing lifestyle, how it feels, what it means. I was hooked on this book from the prologue. And if that was all this book was about, then it wood have been a very enjoyable, good read. However, this book is so much more. It not only brought back the emotions of surfing, but also the emotions of childhood and growing up. I am so stoked to have found this book, and will pass it on to all my friends and family. I think I pull my board down from the rafters of my garage and clean it off this weekend. Who knows what could happen!