Review: The Wave

The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean by Susan Casey

Genre: Non-Fiction, Science, Nature, Surfing
Published: September 2010 by Doubleday
Pages: 312
Rating: 4 of 5

When I decided to read The Wave I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. The ocean, waves and the science behind them was a subject I was interested in but I didn’t see how someone could write an entire book about them. It didn’t take me long to find out. This book sucked me in immediately. There is a lot to learn about our oceans and the people who study them, sail them and surf them. In one word, fascinating.

This is not a dry facts and figures science book. Susan Casey writes in a wonderfully descriptive and engaging style. The book reads like a novel but at the same time you are digesting scientific data and amazing facts. She makes the science easy to understand and the descriptions of the surfers, the waves and the rough seas come to life.

The author traveled with surfer Laird Hamilton and his friends, all extreme surfers that seek out giant waves. These are not just any big waves, they are 60, 70 and even 100 foot high waves. They are not the kind of waves one can paddle out to; they require the surfer to get a tow with a jet ski and have a teammate to rescue them when they hit the surf. There is little margin for error. They risk serious injury and even death when slammed by the force of one of these waves. Their amazing adventure is told in alternating chapters with the story of the scientists and their aspirations to understand how and why these giant waves are formed.

Every two years wave scientists gather at a conference to exchange information on wave research. This has become a hot topic since the 2004 Indonesian tsunami and the recent concerns of how climate change could affect the world’s oceans. The warmer the water the more volatile the seas become with more destructive storms and larger waves. It is also theorized that with the sea level rising due to the melting of the ice cap there is more pressure on ocean bottom resulting in a greater number of underwater earthquakes and, as a result, tsunamis. Again, fascinating stuff.

Each year more than two dozen large ships and their crews go missing. It usually gets explained away as bad weather and is never studied in the same way an airplane crash is analyzed. These scientists want to change that and are now investigating disappearing ships. The author meets with many of the scientists, attends their conventions and explains the research to us in such a clear way that we don’t have to know calculus or chaos theory to understand it. I had no problem following along and I haven’t taken a science or math class in years.

If you enjoy reading about adventure I highly recommend this book. You may not want to go on a cruise or a swim in the ocean after you read it but I know you will be amazed, awed and entertained.
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Source: Review Copy provided by the publisher.
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Doubleday has offered to giveaway a copy of this book to two of my readers. Click here to enter for your chance to win. Contest ends 11/15.
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