Review
15 out of 17 BookBrowse readers rated The Wave 4 or 5 stars (out of 5). Here's what they had to say:
Susan Casey has created the perfect nonfiction book, filled with details of the myths of rogue waves, the recent scientific proof of their measurement, Billabong's crazed reward of $500,000 to the first surfer who can prove by videotape that he or she has ridden a wave bigger than 100 feet and the intimate portrayal of the people who have attempted to win the prize.
If there was room here, I'd quote great lines and descriptions from the book. She can place you right there with Laird Hamilton and many icons of the surf world. You're out on the jet ski feeling and seeing what the surfers are attempting, privileged to their thoughts as they tackle these giant, majestic, monsters of nature. Through the author's eyes, I felt that I had traveled the world...
Beyond the Book
Giant waves were once the stuff of nautical tall tales, filed alongside stories of mermaids and giant squid, but today we know better.
The force of waves is hard to comprehend. According to
The Wave, an 18 inch wave can topple a wall built to withstand 125-mph winds; a breaking 100-foot wave packs 100 tons of force per square meter. In short, those who encounter giant waves rarely live to tell the tale! According to the 1995 MaxWave Project, 200 super carriers have been lost in the last 20 years, many believed to be due to rogue waves.
The first measurable recordings of giant waves came from oil rigs, such as the Ocean Ranger, a 337 foot high oil rig located off Newfoundland which was struck by a wave in 1982 and capsized. There...
