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Welcome to Paradise, Now Go to Hell: A True Story of Violence, Corruption, and the Soul of Surfing Kindle Edition
A finalist for the PEN Center USA Award for Nonfiction
Welcome to Paradise, Now Go to Hell, is surfer and former war reporter Chas Smith’s wild and unflinching look at the high-stakes world of surfing on Oahu’s North Shore—a riveting, often humorous, account of beauty, greed, danger, and crime.
For two months every winter, when Pacific storms make landfall, swarms of mainlanders, Brazilians, Australians, and Europeans flock to Oahu’s paradisiacal North Shore in pursuit of some of the greatest waves on earth for surfing’s Triple Crown competition. Chas Smith reveals how this influx transforms a sleepy, laid-back strip of coast into a lawless, violent, drug-addled, and adrenaline-soaked mecca.
Smith captures this exciting and dangerous place where locals, outsiders, the surf industry, and criminal elements clash in a fascinating look at class, race, power, money, and crime, set within one of the most beautiful places on earth. The result is a breathtaking blend of crime and adventure that captures the allure and wickedness of this idyllic golden world.
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherDey Street Books
- Publication dateNovember 19, 2013
- File size1322 KB
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
From Booklist
Review
[A] ripping profile of the surf culture on Oahu’s North Shore . . . Smith[’s] storytelling is taught . . . — Wall Street Journal
“Chas Smith is a stone-cold original-a globe-trotting, war-reporting, motorcycle-driving, cigarette-smoking, tube-riding, fashion-obsessed international dandy with a penchant for dangerous people, places, and, most of all, prose. Welcome To Paradise, Now Go To Hell is absolutely the most entertaining surf book in years, a breathless adrenalized romp.” — Daniel Duane, author of Caught Inside, A Surfer's Year on the California Coast
“Absolutely the most entertaining surf book in years, a breathless adrenalized romp. More importantly, it’s a jaw-dropping introduction to Smith’s greatest--and most promising--literary creation, himself. This man-and this book-are both going places.” — Daniel Duane, author of Caught Inside: A Surfer's Year on the California Coast
A vivid and somewhat disconcerting depiction of the world of surfing and its attendant problems . . . An uncommon read for those interested in surfing or those seeking a look at Hawaii from a vantage point not normally found in history books. — Library Journal
A hip exposé of Hawaii’s North Shore surfing culture . . . entertains, while superior reporting informs and illuminates much about the surf industry’s peculiar machinations, its cavalcade of sun-bleached heroes and the troubled history of Hawaii itself . . . effortlessly shifting from the profound to the profane. — Kirkus Reviews
A mix of reportage and gonzo journalism…. [with] trenchant…astute observations…. If Hunter S. Thompson circa Hell’s Angels merged with a fashion critic to write about surfing for Maxim, the result might be similar. — Publishers Weekly
Smith grabs us with his first sentence [with] this exciting and revelatory book — Booklist
A book of real literary style and grace . . . gleefully mischievous . . . handles like a ‘54 Porsche: smooth, glamorous, and totally out of control. — Flaunt
Made me think hard about the North Shore . . . To the best of my knowledge, nothing like it exists.” — The Inertia
Smith doesn’t simply stand in judgment. He loves the world of the North Shore, and he hates it. With gleeful defiance and feral wit, he harnesses his ambivalence to fuel this compulsive, wild ride of a book. — Sydney Morning Herald, Pick of the Week
A wild and unflinching look at the adrenalin-soaked world of surfing. — Melbourne Herald Sun
From the Back Cover
A finalist for the PEN Center USA Award for Nonfiction
For two months every winter, when Pacific storms make landfall, Oahu's paradisical North Shore turns into a fiery hell. Its population more than triples as mainlanders, Brazilians, Australians, and Europeans transform the normally sleepy shore into a lawless, violent, drug-addled, and adrenaline-soaked mecca where fearless men paddle into thirty-foot waves breaking over a razor-sharp reef. And when the sun goes down, the true danger comes out as drug money, fights, murder, and extortion rule the surfing underworld. The North Shore during winter is downright dangerous but also exhilarating, and Chas Smith paints a true picture of what it feels like to be in the middle of it all. Welcome to Paradise, Now Go to Hell is both a breathtaking and wildly funny tale of beauty, wickedness, and the unyielding allure of ocean waves in all their glory.
About the Author
Chas Smith has spent his whole life surfing. He has written adventure/travel stories for Playboy, Esquire, Vice, GQ, BlackBook, and The New York Times Magazine. He has covered wars in Lebanon, conflicts in Yemen, dirty oil dealings in Azerbaijan, and fashion in Somalia. He is the former editor-at-living-large for Surfing magazine, and writes for Australia's Stab. He lives in Los Angeles and has spent five winters on the North Shore.
Product details
- ASIN : B00BATIKLQ
- Publisher : Dey Street Books; Reprint edition (November 19, 2013)
- Publication date : November 19, 2013
- Language : English
- File size : 1322 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 259 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #685,877 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #28 in Sports Travel
- #107 in Pacific Islanders Biographies
- #305 in History of Sports
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Chas Smith is the author of the best-selling Welcome to Paradise, Now Go to Hell, a finalist for the PEN Center USA Award for Nonfiction, Cocaine + Surfing, Reports From Hell and Blessed are the Bank Robbers, which was selected as one of the best crime books of the year by The New York Times.
Chas began his writing career as a foreign correspondent, penning pieces for Vice, Paper and Blackbook, amongst others, from Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Somalia, Azerbaijan and Colombia which led to a brief career as a war correspondent for Current TV.
After being kidnapped by Hezbollah during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war he transitioned to surf journalism where he was a featured writer at the brash Stab before becoming Editor at Large at Surfing Magazine. There he developed a reputation as the most controversial voices in the space. Matt Warshaw, author of the Encyclopedia of Surfing, calls him, “Bright and hyper-ironic.” William Finnegan, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Barbarian Days, says that Chas, “…calls it like he sees it and in surfing that’s not usually the case.”
Chas Smith is co-owner of a surf website, BeachGrit.
Customer reviews
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book enjoyable and entertaining. They appreciate the insightful descriptions of surfing and the unique culture of Oahu's North Shore. The humor is described as hilarious, witty, and dark. Readers describe the style as interesting and capture the vibe of the extreme North Shore culture through the eyes of a writer. The pacing is described as good, with descriptions of the big wave surfers, the surf industry, and the culture on the North Shore. However, some customers feel the author is overly self-absorbed and annoying. Overall, the story quality is described as rambling about nothing, never coming together as an interesting story.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book enjoyable and engaging. They say it's a good read for both surfers and non-surfers to get a first-hand view of the North Shore surf. The author is described as a great storyteller who keeps them entertained with vivid descriptions. The feuds, violence, and thrills are all well-told in vivid detail.
"...This book is a great read for surfers but ESPECIALLY for non-surfers who want to know why this place and these people create a hellish paradise." Read more
"The subtitle of this book is 'A True Story...' and it likely is mostly true...." Read more
"...Excellent read for someone who has been there or planning to go. Will have me eyes really open this year when I go...." Read more
"...Entertaining, in some ways, yes...." Read more
Customers find the book insightful and humorous. They appreciate the descriptions of surfing and Hawaiian culture. The book provides a good introduction to modern-day competitors and reefs. Readers also enjoy the succinct descriptions of places and enjoy escaping into the book for a day.
"...I have been there many times and felt this was an accurate description and much more fun that the place itself...." Read more
"...the North shore even if he has never been there for it is surfing's most sacred ground...." Read more
"...mind and ours all around these subjects, all the while charming and charmed...." Read more
"...Ditto for the topic of this memoir; it will be riveting for surfing aficianados who aren't already in the know, but for the average reader, it will..." Read more
Customers enjoy the book's humor. They find it hilarious, witty, and entertaining. The author uses dark humor to discuss island politics and what really goes on in the surf. Readers appreciate the author's ability to be cocky and endearing at times. They praise the trash prose and poetic passages mixed in with lengthy narratives.
"...Smith's funny fashion elements and his ability to be cocky and endearing at times...." Read more
"...All the dandyish humor, self-referencing, and self-deprecating commentary serves as a hilarious chaser to all that darkness...." Read more
"...there are many 5-star, deeply felt descriptive passages that are downright poetic, but they’re mixed in with lengthy, disjointed, self-referential..." Read more
"...I loved the fast paced, wry style that kept me alternately laughing, thinking, questioning, and cringing throughout my marathon reading session...." Read more
Customers enjoy the book's style. They find it interesting and well-captured of the North Shore culture through Chas Smith's eyes. They appreciate his funny fashion elements and cocky personality.
"...I love Chas Smith's funny fashion elements and his ability to be cocky and endearing at times...." Read more
"...Fear again. But his hair looks better now. Style, and Fear...." Read more
"...I loved the fast paced, wry style that kept me alternately laughing, thinking, questioning, and cringing throughout my marathon reading session...." Read more
"...The rest of the book looks new. I'll keep it because it's too late to return it and get another one before Christmas...." Read more
Customers find the book's pacing engaging. They appreciate the descriptions of big wave surfers, the surf industry, and the culture on the North Shore. The inside scoop on the surfing pipeline makes Pipeline even more intriguing. Readers appreciate the profiles of various prominent surfers and the well-written primer on waves and how surfers surf.
"...profiles of various prominent surfers; - a well-written primer on waves and how surfers surf them; and -..." Read more
"...day surf competitors, very good descriptions of the reefs, the big waves of pipeline, under currents, and the pacific ocean in this particular area..." Read more
"...His descriptions of the big wave surfers, the surf industry and the culture on the North Shore are eye-openers...." Read more
"...Makes Pipeline that much more intriguing." Read more
Customers have mixed reviews about the writing quality of the book. Some find it easy to read and appreciate the author's non-apologetic approach. Others feel the writing is poor, trashy, and needs tighter editing.
"...The book is a really fast and easy read and it holds one's attention all the way through. This is because the author is an excellent raconteur...." Read more
"...What I dislike about this one is what so many seem to like, his "trash prose" style...." Read more
"...writing at its very best, and there are many 5-star, deeply felt descriptive passages that are downright poetic, but they’re mixed in with lengthy,..." Read more
"Entertaining book. Good writing. Chas Smith is a lazy writer. He is blessed with gobs of talent but he's the classic underachiever...." Read more
Customers dislike the author's content. They feel the author is self-absorbed and the exposé is limited to a couple of locals.
"The author is a bit too full of himself. Enjoyed the story. Eight seven six five four three two one" Read more
"The author is a bit full of himself and the exposé is limited to a couple of locals on the North Shore. Nothing too exciting." Read more
"...After the first paragraph I disliked the book and hated the author. I though it might get better when he stops talking about himself. It doesn't" Read more
"Disliked the author from the 1st sentence. Hope the locals kicked his haole ass" Read more
Customers find the story rambling and lacking cohesion. They say some stories are embellished, but overall it's a same-old story. The title is overstated for the content inside, and the chapter names are confusing.
"...I enjoyed every bit of it, aside from the somewhat confusing chapter names, it is rich in it's story of Hawaii and for anyone who has been to the..." Read more
"Great book. Some of the stories are embellished, but it's interesting all the same...." Read more
"...Nothing too exciting." Read more
"...The title is way too adventurous for the content inside...." Read more
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Facts about the surfing world
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2013This book is an easy and thrilling ride. I enjoyed every bit of it, aside from the somewhat confusing chapter names, it is rich in it's story of Hawaii and for anyone who has been to the North Shore does an incredible job of reminding you how hellish and beautiful it is all at the same time. I have been there many times and felt this was an accurate description and much more fun that the place itself. I love Chas Smith's funny fashion elements and his ability to be cocky and endearing at times. His flow has a distinct style and in a time where there is a lack of journalistic integrity I appreciate Smiths ability to recognize his own battle with dark influences of corporations and the empathy he provides for the Hawaiian's feeling fiercely protective of their land. He actually humanizes some of the darker forces that dominate "country" and gives you a true inside peak as to why things are they way they are and maybe that's just how it's supposed to be. This book is a great read for surfers but ESPECIALLY for non-surfers who want to know why this place and these people create a hellish paradise.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2013The subtitle of this book is 'A True Story...' and it likely is mostly true. I think the author took some liberties with time and events but likely not in a way to alter it much.
Any surfer has more than a passing familiarity with the North shore even if he has never been there for it is surfing's most sacred ground. All who have surfed there, or attempted to, or who have kept up with the scene are also aware of its peculiar form of unofficially sanctioned frontier justice. Some would call it localism, but this is a far more highly evolved system of justice, retribution and surf socialism that has evolved around the world's most iconic waves in one of the world's most iconic tropical paradises, and Chas Smith has come to town to break it down for the lay reader....and does a really good job of it.
After giving us a taste of who he is: Thrill seeker, Journalist, Crap stirrer, Dandy, Surfer, World Traveler, and so on,the author proposes to take us on a journey through the labyrinthine inner workings of North Shore's high stakes, big wave surf scene.
The problem is one of a finite resource, the world's best waves; a discrete area, seven miles of prime surfing; a near-infinite source of filthy lucre, corporate purveyors of globally consumed surf-themed goods, a put-upon minority with huge muscles, steely nerves, amazing physical skill and few compunctions about resorting to violence; the self-proclaimed rulers of their beloved, besieged surfing kingdom.
The solution is an unarmed mob, roughly organized into an elite cadre of enforcers meting out justice based upon a rough calculus that takes into account the respect one has earned on the North Shore, surf-cred, corporate sponsorship, indigineity, the ability to take it and dish it out, and social connections.
Underlying this is a subculture of drugs and ripoffs of various kinds done by people often not directly involved in the surf scene but who are woven into the social culture through blood ties and affiliation.
What Mr. Smith has done is to paint us this picture through observation and through the eyes of various larger than life characters who are the key players in the scene. Even though he makes it read like a story, this is almost an ethnography based upon the Hawaiian big wave scene circa 2009.
The book is a really fast and easy read and it holds one's attention all the way through. This is because the author is an excellent raconteur. Technically, he's only mostly literate though, and I'm shocked that Harper Collins didn't give him a better editor. For, the book is littered with numerous errors obviously resulting from over-reliance upon a spell-check program, and the author's unfamiliarity with word usage in general sometimes trips him up, e.g. on page 208 he uses the words compliance and implicit when he means complicit, with this sort of thing occuring throughout the book. At first it is jarring and then irritating.
Still, the author makes a valiant attempt at literary flight by directly refering to Joseph Conrad and Jacques Derrida, and my hat goes off to him for that.
This is a book I really looked forward to receiving because I've been engaged in a lot of rather dry reading of late and wanted a change. This was just the tonic. I received it yesterday morning, began it yesterday afternoon and finished it yesterday night with the thought that it would've been a wonderful accompaniment to a transpacific flight, indeed.
- Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2014Bought this book based on a recommendation from a family member who spent a vacation in the North Shore. Been to the North Shore myself at least 8 times and was very surprised to read about how it really is. Going to Hawaii again this year and will take another trip to the North Shore however my perspective will now be entirely different. Have not finished the book but it certainly is surprising that the North Shore is not as laid back as one would believe it is. Excellent read for someone who has been there or planning to go. Will have me eyes really open this year when I go. One thing is for sure the locals do not have what we would think to be a good sense of humor. In all my past visits to the North Shore I never experienced or saw any troubles but behind the scenes it's really not the "Paradise" that one would perceive it is.
Top reviews from other countries
- FlorReviewed in Spain on July 28, 2022
4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining reading
It fun and entertaining to read. Gives a realistic view of the North Shore vibe and idiosyncrasies, with a bit of the author’s own psychological dilemmas. Nice.
- Marie MacDonaldReviewed in Canada on October 6, 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars Thanks!
Product arrived as described and ahead of schedule. Thanks!
- Rich OReviewed in the United Kingdom on March 3, 2021
5.0 out of 5 stars Fear and loathing on the North Shore
Author, Chas Smith, lifts the veil of the supposedly glamorous international surf scene to reveal its dark and dirty heart. A gripping and very well written tale that was genuinely hard to out down. Smith himself, however, seems to revel in being a pain in the arse and it took me a couple chapters to get over certain vacuous aspects of his character.
- GabeReviewed in Australia on January 6, 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars Voice
Chas stylistically is one of the more interesting writers in the surf world. We need him. No more of this BS mumbo jumbo that's getting spit out by most of the mags.
- luluReviewed in Germany on February 17, 2014
5.0 out of 5 stars Welcome to Paradise, Now Go to Hell: Addictive!
Not a surfer myself, just a fan of the sport, but I was so interested in the spectacle and BTS!
I'm charmed and swooned away by his cockiness (in all honesty) and I laughed so hard sometimes about his anecdotes! The book is well written (what else is to expect of someone who named his little child Hemingway) and in combination to what he has to say I became absolutely hooked on this book! Loved the inside scoop, loved his writing skills, adored his honesty and courage, and his attitude towards everything is refreshing!
Note: English is a foreign language after my german mother tongue and I was able to follow his style and vocabular fluently.