The Wave

I devoured this book–twice.

Susan Casey chased the massive swells with the Big Wave surfers in HI. She exposed the actual frequency of the “rogue waves” that drown ships. We marvel with her at the 1,700+ foot wave that slammed Alaska and the fisherman who survived and how humans insist on building on shores, not believing tsunamis will happen again with the juggernaut of climate change feeding the waves.

Casey educates us who are not Oceanographers, fearless surfers, or North Atlantic seafarers. She takes us with her on her adventure and education. I will never take the wave lapping at… show more.

This is an adventure! Turn the pages of this book to find waves and many kinds of waves: rogue, freak, and giant waves of the ocean and the people who try to surf them. I am a retired US Coast Guard officer and sailed many ships at sea. As a mariner we know of or have seen waves, some of them tossing our ships in the middle of the night as we try to sail home. Any number of ships have vanished in the ocean, quickly, with no time to put out an SOS call for help. This is a… show more.

A non-fiction deep dive into the power of the ocean and those obsessed with riding the largest waves.

This is a wide-ranging book; exploring a history of wave destruction, some detail on the science of waves; in particular why it is so difficult to predict when freak waves will occur, before giving us a more human story of the big wave riders who constantly push the boundaries of what we think a surfer can do.

The Wave is a brilliant piece of investigative journalism and a very human tale full of rare personalities and fascinating science. Casey trails extreme surfers like Laird Hamilton around the globe as they pursue the thrill and fame of conquering 100-foot waves. She also interviews scientists about the forces that create the kind of monsters that sink our biggest vessels. Until recently, many scientists considered reports of rogue waves no more than sailors’ exaggerations. But now the scientific imperative of understanding them is rising like the waves themselves as they become more extreme, nurtured by the impacts of climate change.… show more.

At the heart of any surfing story is a wave: the perfect wave, the one you missed, the one that held you under. Casey’s story is about waves monstrous in both size and appetite. This is a masterfully written non-fiction book in which Casey manages to weave together science, research, and human stories. It is a gripping exploration of not only the rarified surfers who seek to ride the ocean’s titans but also the watery giants themselves. The waves in this book are breathtaking, life-taking, and a powerful reminder that the ocean is, “…a place where the unknown happens.”