Kook: What Surfing Taught Me About Love, Life, and Catching the Perfect Wave

Product Description With grit, poetry, and humor, Peter Heller, acclaimed author ofThe Whale Warriors, recounts his remarkable journey of discovery—of surfing, an entirely new challenge; of the ocean's beauty and power; of the strange surf subculture; of love; and, most of all, of how to seek adventure while crafting a meaningful life. Having resolved to master a big-hollow wave—that is, to go from kook (surfese for beginner) to shredder—in a single year, Heller travels from Southern California down the coast of Mexico in the company of his girlfriend and the eccentric surfers they meet. Exuberant and fearless, Heller explores the technique and science of surfing the secrets of its culture, and the environmental ravages to the stunning coastline he visits. As Heller plumbs the working of his own heart and finds joy in both love and surfing, he affords listeners vivid insight into this fascinating world, with all of its perils and pleasures, its absurdity and wonder. Exhilarating, entertaining, and moving,Kook is a love story between a man and his surfboard, a man and his girlfriend, a not-so-old man and the sea. Review Heller has learned that surfing is not simply about staying up on your board; it's about love: of a woman, of living, of the sea.-- "Publishers Weekly Starred Review" About the Author Peter Heller is the bestselling author of The Painter and The Dog Stars, among others. An award-winning adventure writer and a longtime contributor to NPR, he is a contributing editor at Outside magazine, Mens Journal, and National Geographic Adventure and a regular contributor to Bloomberg Businessweek. He is also the author of several nonfiction books, including Kook, The Whale Warriors, and Hell or High Water: Surviving Tibets Tsangpo River. He holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers Workshop in both fiction and poetry.