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The Wave

In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean

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The Wave

Written by: Susan Casey
Narrated by: Kirsten Potter
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About this listen

From Susan Casey, bestselling author of The Devil’s Teeth, an astonishing book about colossal, ship-swallowing rogue waves and the surfers who seek them out.

For centuries, mariners have spun tales of gargantuan waves, 100-feet high or taller. Until recently scientists dis​missed these stories - waves that high would seem to violate the laws of physics. But in the past few decades, as a startling number of ships vanished and new evidence has emerged, oceanographers realized something scary was brewing in the planet’s waters. They found their proof in February 2000, when a British research vessel was trapped in a vortex of impossibly mammoth waves in the North Sea - including several that approached 100 feet.

As scientists scramble to understand this phenomenon, others view the giant waves as the ultimate challenge. These are extreme surfers who fly around the world trying to ride the ocean’s most destructive monsters. The pioneer of extreme surfing is the legendary Laird Hamilton, who, with a group of friends in Hawaii, figured out how to board suicidally large waves of 70 and 80 feet. Casey follows this unique tribe of peo​ple as they seek to conquer the holy grail of their sport, a 100-​foot wave.

In this mesmerizing account, the exploits of Hamilton and his fellow surfers are juxtaposed against scientists’ urgent efforts to understand the destructive powers of waves - from the tsunami that wiped out 250,000 people in the Pacific in 2004 to the 1,740-foot-wave that recently leveled part of the Alaskan coast.

Like Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air, The Wave brilliantly portrays human beings confronting nature at its most ferocious.

©2010 Susan Casey (P)2010 Random House Audio Adventure Travel Earth Sciences Environment Nature & Ecology Surfing Water Sports Adventure Transportation
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What the critics say

“Something is stewing in our seas, and Susan Casey - traveling, and in some cases swimming, all around the world - is eager to find out what it is. Both a rollicking look at the ocean’s growing freakishness and a troubling examination of our ailing planet, The Wave gives new meaning to the term ‘immersion reporting.’” (Hampton Sides, author of Hellhound on His Trail, Blood and Thunder, and Ghost Soldiers)
“At once scary and fun, The Wave surprises at every turn.” (Elizabeth Kolbert, author of Field Notes from a Catastrophe)
“Like the surfers and scientists she profiles, Casey lived and breathed giant waves for years. Casey combines an insane passion for craft with an uncanny ability to describe the indescribable. In The Wave she whisks the reader off to unimaginably surreal settings and puts them in the middle of mind-blowing scenarios. This book sucked me in like the undertow at Pipeline.” (Mary Roach, author of Stiff and Packing for Mars)

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Awesome story

This book was amazingly engaging and informative - loved every word. Read it. Save it. Share it.

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Profile Image for Lynne M.

Not what it seems

1/3 about actual waves and the other 2/3 is the author being a fan girl following big wave surf bros. The wave science parts are incredible and truly amazing but there are so many surf bro chapters it’s painful, they really take away from the interesting info.

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Profile Image for Victoria

Entertaining and informative

A very interesting topic to learn about (and often shocking) in a unique way. Casey writing bridges between the surf, the scientific and the historic perspectives in a way that is very riveting. However, consequently the primary story line can sometimes be lost in the back and forth between these different perspectives and their various stories. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I read it quickly and would recommend it to anyone who’s interested in the vast ocean/outdoor world and even if you aren’t interested in surfing. It would definitely appeal to a wide audience! It was informative without being overtly global warming/environmental doomsday-ish. I definitely want to read other books by Susan Casey immediately after reading this one!

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