The Book of Surfing - Michael Fordham

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Original things, that’s what it’s all about, right? Enter writer and journalist Michael Fordham, who has punched through the thin layer of profit-driven pastiche to come up with something radically new: a book about surfing culture for the everyday man.

So far so seen it before, but Fordham does it differently. For starters, the book’s broken down into six discrete sections – ‘The Surfing Planet’, ‘The Ride’, ‘The Vision’, ‘Surf Legends’, The Search’ and ‘Surf Culture’ - which allows you to dip in and out of key moments with ease, making for an oblique, fun and non-linear read.

For example, you can kick it with Nat Young for a solid ten minutes, deep within the legends section, then paddle back to a spread that explains the ‘perfect wave’, right before you ride on over to Australia to surf the wave-making machine that is Superbank on the Gold Coast. Cool, huh?

The attractive art direction, backed by beautiful how-to illustrations and never-before-seen photos, make this back-and-forth journey a veritable pleasure. And, best of all, Fordham delivers it all with an addictively readable voice, deconstructing key historical moments in a way that’s sure to appeal to old salts and new surfers alike.