--- product_id: 1136386 title: "The History of Surfing" price: "€ 113.98" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.nl/products/1136386-the-history-of-surfing store_origin: NL region: Netherlands --- # The History of Surfing **Price:** € 113.98 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The History of Surfing - **How much does it cost?** € 113.98 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.nl](https://www.desertcart.nl/products/1136386-the-history-of-surfing) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description From respected surfing authority Matt Warshaw, The History of Surfing presents a breathtaking and complete look at the history and culture of the sport. "Meticulously researched, smartly written, beautifully laid out ... required reading." — Outside Magazine Matt Warshaw knows more about surfing than any other person on the planet. After five years of research and writing, Warshaw has crafted an unprecedented history of the sport and the culture it has spawned. At nearly 500 pages, with 250,000 words and more than 250 rare photographs, The History of Surfing reveals and defines this sport with a voice that is authoritative, funny, and wholly original. The obsessive nature of this endeavor is matched only by the obsessive nature of surfers, who will pore through these pages with passion and opinion. Here, at last, is the definitive history of surfing. THE PERFECT GIFT: Packed with stunning photographs, this exhaustive history of surfing makes a superb present for surfers, beach bums, photography lovers, and history buffs. EXPERT AUTHOR: Matt Warshaw began riding waves in 1969 and even had a brief, undistinguished, resume-padding career as a pro surfer during the early 1980s. He worked at Surfer magazine for six years and became editor in 1990. He has published articles in The New York Times , The Wall Street Journal , Esquire , Interview , and Outside , and has written eight books, including The Encyclopedia of Surfing ("A living, breathing masterpiece," according to Salon.com). READERS LOVE IT: In hundreds of 5-star ratings, reviewers rave, calling this “the best, most comprehensive and enjoyable single source read available today on surfing” that's definitely “not just for surfers.” Perfect for: Fans of surf culture, history, or photography Anyone looking for a unique coffee table book or beautiful gift Adding to the shelf alongside classic surfing books like Big Wave Surfer , Clark Little: The Art of Waves , and William Finnegan's Pulitzer Prize-winning Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life Review: A heady look at the sport, the people, the history, and the sensation if not the rapture . . . - Warshaw covers it all. It's a fascinating book, complete with sections on surfing lore, surfing legends and heroes, 'surfing philosophy' and how it influenced the sport (as well as the zeitgeist of the era, an on), types of boards, how one mode of thinking led to the next. Well done and worth the price. You can get gorgeous surfing photos -- past and present -- in a gazillion other books. This has a few, but it really is an intellectual look at a West Coast phenom. Yes, intellectual (well, as much so as possible, anyway). What I mean is that surfers are said to be shallow, narcissistic (or ego-oriented) hedonists. He says little to disavow folks of that notion, but he explains how it is that the public feels this way about those who practice the sport. Granted, today many -- if not most -- surfers probably just enjoy the athleticism, the being "in one with the waves" feeling, being out on gorgeous days, the thrill of the speed, and the exhilaration of being out there in the gorgeous water with the fish and other wildlife. But there is a mystique to it all, too, and while not exactly nailing the sensation or the "rapture" of it, Warshaw comes about as close as possible. Review: A Good Read - Having read some of Matt Warshaw's other work (mostly shorts and Maverick's: The Story of Big Wave Surfing)I already knew that I liked his writing style. Being an aging surfer and having read a good bit of both historic and modern surf literature, I wasn't sure if a comphrehensive HOS would be able to hold my attention. Simply put, it did, and then some. I was generally familiar with a good bit of the content from my disjointed readings of the past. There is enough new stuff and some surprises in the old stuff, more than enough, and written in a manner that makes it an enjoyable and refreshing cover to cover read. Having a degree in history, an ex-pro surfer, having established the most extensive surf database anywhere in existence, as well as having recently completed The Encyclopedia Of Surfing, Matt is unquestionably the authority on the subject, uniquely qualified to write the history of surfing. Yes, as a reviewer noted there is some "opinion" to be found here and there, not a lot, but it is clearly such and I found it to be more insightful in nature, an "insider's" perspective, not opinion masquerading as fact. As a surfer of course I'm obviously biased to the subject, but I do agree that non surfers with any interest what-so-ever in surf history or culture should find this to be the best, most comphrehensive and enjoyable single source read available today on surfing. The bottom line is: if you are a grom or an old surfer you really should give this a read regardless of how you come by it. Get it from your local library, borrow it from a bro, steal it. Just kidding, don't steal- we're finally getting a little main stream respect these days. I found the desertcart price to be the best. It is pretty beefy. If you buy it and don't like it, you've still got one hell of a door stop. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #69,395 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #8 in Surfing #18 in Sports Journalism #594 in Historical Study (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.9 out of 5 stars 411 Reviews | ## Images ![The History of Surfing - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/9189uK-dz6L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A heady look at the sport, the people, the history, and the sensation if not the rapture . . . *by A***E on March 15, 2015* Warshaw covers it all. It's a fascinating book, complete with sections on surfing lore, surfing legends and heroes, 'surfing philosophy' and how it influenced the sport (as well as the zeitgeist of the era, an on), types of boards, how one mode of thinking led to the next. Well done and worth the price. You can get gorgeous surfing photos -- past and present -- in a gazillion other books. This has a few, but it really is an intellectual look at a West Coast phenom. Yes, intellectual (well, as much so as possible, anyway). What I mean is that surfers are said to be shallow, narcissistic (or ego-oriented) hedonists. He says little to disavow folks of that notion, but he explains how it is that the public feels this way about those who practice the sport. Granted, today many -- if not most -- surfers probably just enjoy the athleticism, the being "in one with the waves" feeling, being out on gorgeous days, the thrill of the speed, and the exhilaration of being out there in the gorgeous water with the fish and other wildlife. But there is a mystique to it all, too, and while not exactly nailing the sensation or the "rapture" of it, Warshaw comes about as close as possible. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Good Read *by C***K on December 14, 2010* Having read some of Matt Warshaw's other work (mostly shorts and Maverick's: The Story of Big Wave Surfing)I already knew that I liked his writing style. Being an aging surfer and having read a good bit of both historic and modern surf literature, I wasn't sure if a comphrehensive HOS would be able to hold my attention. Simply put, it did, and then some. I was generally familiar with a good bit of the content from my disjointed readings of the past. There is enough new stuff and some surprises in the old stuff, more than enough, and written in a manner that makes it an enjoyable and refreshing cover to cover read. Having a degree in history, an ex-pro surfer, having established the most extensive surf database anywhere in existence, as well as having recently completed The Encyclopedia Of Surfing, Matt is unquestionably the authority on the subject, uniquely qualified to write the history of surfing. Yes, as a reviewer noted there is some "opinion" to be found here and there, not a lot, but it is clearly such and I found it to be more insightful in nature, an "insider's" perspective, not opinion masquerading as fact. As a surfer of course I'm obviously biased to the subject, but I do agree that non surfers with any interest what-so-ever in surf history or culture should find this to be the best, most comphrehensive and enjoyable single source read available today on surfing. The bottom line is: if you are a grom or an old surfer you really should give this a read regardless of how you come by it. Get it from your local library, borrow it from a bro, steal it. Just kidding, don't steal- we're finally getting a little main stream respect these days. I found the Amazon price to be the best. It is pretty beefy. If you buy it and don't like it, you've still got one hell of a door stop. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great book! *by L***G on September 28, 2025* Awesome book! Great gift for my dad. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.nl/products/1136386-the-history-of-surfing](https://www.desertcart.nl/products/1136386-the-history-of-surfing) --- *Product available on Desertcart Netherlands* *Store origin: NL* *Last updated: 2026-08-17*