Book Reviews
5 July 2011

The Ninth Wave tells the stories behind 100 of the great surf photos of the modern age.

Amongst them are moments that have decided world titles. A wave that Shane Dorian waited 15 years to catch. A glimpse of a virgin Pacific reef from a mail plane 5000 feet up. A lone surfer in a 60-knot Southern Ocean squall. The horizon going black at Waimea Bay during the biggest swell in a decade. Splitting a wave with your kid at Bells Beach. The story of the wave that keeps Kelly Slater awake at night.

The Ninth Wave features stories from the world’s best-known surfers… and several of it’s least. Mick Fanning and Kremmo, Kelly Slater and Jughead, Occy and a bloke named Rambo. Their stories add another dimension to the photos, some of which have defined surfing in the past five years.

The Ninth Wave showcases the work of surf photography’s great contemporary talents; Jon Frank, Andrew “Shorty” Buckley, Ted Grambeau, Trent Mitchell, Brian Bielmann and Dustin Humphrey amongst them. Guys who have devoted their lives to capturing the surfing experience.

“It’s an incredible collection of images,” says one of the book’s stars, Joel Parkinson. “There are so many epic moments in there, and some guys who can tell a pretty tall story as well.”