Learn to Surf

I needed to do some research on surfing. This book was a great, little book that helped me out. It has some fun insights into surfing philosophy, history, materials, boards, waves, etc. It's like a surfing for dummies, but more fun and easier to read. I ended up also getting the Encylcopedia of Surfing, which was much easier to read after picking up this book.

Obviously the only way to learn how to actually surf is to get in the water and do it, with some lessons, or the gumption to just go for it. But this book will help you out with the stuff that you may want to know first. So thank you for writing this book, and hopefully one day I will get my butt out there on a longboard (for beginners. And the pop-up is the most important part.

This book is good for beginners. It's simple and easy to follow. If you have a basic idea about surfing then you may need to look for something more advance.

This book is a great book for the beginning surfer. It's easy to read and very informative.

I've just taken up surfing here in Ireland and so I read this book with great interest - especially the part about water temperature. 48 degrees in the water is damn cold, so a 5/3 wetsuit with boots is a necessity to make sure you don't have a miserable session(at the very least).It was very good, covering all the basics of how to to get up on the board in stages and good detail was also available on wave mechanics. The only thing I felt lacking was a more indepth discussion on surfboards - for example - why some boards have three fins fitted and others just one etc..

This book is for the absolute beginner. It teaches you step by step how to get started if you are just beginning. It did provide some nice tips on proper paddling and positioning. Give it a quick read and just go out and do it. I didn't think all the beginning steps (jumping into white water, riding on your knees, etc.) were necessary. Just do what feels right. It's a good book for the right audience though.

The author clearly didn't have anywhere near enough to say to make a book, so he filled this one with all kinds of useless trivia, like "look out for jellyfish." We don't need someone to tell us that. A lot of the book is a sort of dictionary, but he shows his ignorance in many of the entries. He appears to be just another person with limited knowledge, trying to jump on the surf bandwagon. I totally agree with another reviewer who recommended going to the beach and paying attention, instead of wasting your time and money on this book.

This is a great book to learn in depth about surfing, I have been surfing since I was 6 and I wish that I had a book to teach me all of the things that I learned the hard way. This book is a survival guide, It teaches you about waves, form and how to identify rip tides and other things that can end your day of surfing and your life. If you are considering learning to to surf, you can't afford not to read this book.

I decided to get this book after my first week of surfing lessons, and it greatly added the "theory" which was not communicated/explained enough by the Portuguese surfing instructor. Yes, it is quite basic, but it covers a wide range of aspects (it touches on various boards and surfing equipment, science of the waves, manoeuvres, how to be respectful and polite to your fellow surfers and what NOT to do while you are in the water). For the beginners that is a lot of useful information, and perhaps it will not make much sense if you have not yet had your time on the board, but it will all fall into place once you experienced real life surfing. I would recommend it to any surfing beginner as this book is designed for person who knows nothing or next to nothing about surfing. "Learn to Surf" is one of the better books on science of surfing for beginner I came upon.Please note this was published in 1997 and does not have many illustrations (and no colourful ones at all!), but I still think it's a good theory book.

this book will teach you how to surf...in easy stages...no fuss...just perfect advice...after having read it twice...and two 6 hour days in the water...i'm well on my way to being a surfer...i have met people on the beach who have had lessons...and some with up to two years messing around with surfing...and because of this book i was better informed...and was able to give those surfers pointers...great safety tips...well written and easy to understand...this book is a must for anyone who wants to capture THAT moment ... ;)