Book Reviews
"[Susan Casey] examines big waves from every angle, and goes in deep with those who know the phenomenon most intimately.... Casey makes a convincing, entertaining case (nifty cliffhangers and all) that there is a heretofore little-known monster in our midst.... She pushes the scientists on the big question.... Casey is fluent in 'gnarly' and proficient in 'wonk,' and she writes lucidly so the rest of us can come along for the ride. Her wonderfully vivid, kinetic narrative...offers a prescient vision of watery perils—and sometimes, bittersweet triumphs.... Amid the images of demolition, Casey hangs on to the magic and beauty of waves.
Holly Morris - New York Times Book Review
The book dives deeply into the world of top-level surfers....Casey does a commendable job of surveying the broader problems confronting wave studies...compelling and wonderfully detailed...engrossing.... Casey adroitly moves beyond what we think we know about big-wave surf culture and churns out a series of action chapters that are not for the faint of heart.
Los Angeles Times
Extraordinary....fascinating, heroic, dazzling, terrifying, amazing, unbelievable, mesmerizing, instructive, enlightening, superb. This is the Dragon Tattoo, Moby Dick, Into Thin Air for our time; a powerful, articulate ride into a world you never knew existed but that you will never, never forget. I am honoured to write this review. Bravo, Susan Casey.
Globe and Mail (Canada)
Immensely powerful, beautiful, addictive and, yes, incredibly thrilling....takes the reader into the hearts and minds of the world's renowned surfers....Through the eyes of the surfers, readers get a remarkable sense of how they choose their waves, the skill that it takes to rocket across them, what it feels like to fall, what happens when surfers and Jet Skis are flung into coral reefs, what it's like to be rolled and pounded by tons of water, and what it is like physically and psychologically to be held under for too long - how some surfers make it back to the surface, and others drown.
But The Wave is far more than a book about surfing. Casey's quest is also to understand the characteristics of giant waves and rogue waves. She explores the impact giant waves have on ships, oil rigs, fishing boats and passenger ships.....Casey explains the science of waves in a straightforward but always engaging manner.... Casey also illuminates recent mind-boggling discoveries.... Casey unlocks the mysteries of waves in her fascinating and enlightening book. And like a surfer who is happily hooked, the reader simply won't be able to get enough of it.
San Francisco Chronicle
You think Jaws made you fear the ocean? In this adrenaline rush of a book, Casey...describes "nature's biggest tantrum".... Her eerie, majestic descriptions...make The Wave an unsettling thrill ride that's as terrifying as it is awe inspiring.
People
Casey writes compellingly of the threat and beauty of the ocean at its most dangerous.... Casey also smoothly translates the science of her subject into engaging prose. This book will fascinate anyone who has even the slightest interest in the oceans that surround us.
Publishers Weekly
Casey writes up a fascinating compendium of information about the scientists’ specialties and the global shipping industry’s concern with high-amplitude waves.... Stoking the ever-popular topic of extremities of nature, Casey imparts awe in her rogue-wave connection of commerce, science, and sport. —Gilbert Taylor
Booklist