An elegant and surprising history of surfing that examines its cultural influence in some of the most unexpected places

How did an obscure tribal sport from precolonial Hawaii—one that was nearly eliminated on its home islands by Christian missionaries—jump oceans to California and Australia? And how did it become such a worldwide passion, influencing lives around the globe?

In this brilliantly written travel adventure, journalist and surfer Moore visits unlikely surfing destinations —Gaza, West Africa, North England, Berlin, Bali, Japan, Cuba, and Morocco—to give the reader a folk history of surfing. This is a personal sketch for any curious reader of how the modern sport moved around the world and mingled with cultures that either have nothing to do with Hawaii or have strong reasons to resist pop silliness from the First World. The result is the story of hippies, soldiers, nutcases, and colonialism; a checkered history of the spread of Western culture in the years after World War II.

Moore brings to his subject a sense of adventure and relevance that will appeal to surfers and nonsurfers alike.

 

“A wild, passionate, and thrilling ride; in the company of Pacific princes, beatnik athletes, and outlaw long-boarders, Michael Scott Moore catches surfing’s global wave through a sweeping history of America’s most liberating, taut, and tanned cultural export. Glorious!”

—Rory MacLean, author of Magic Bus: On the Hippie Trail from Istanbul to India

 

“Warm, smart, funny, and beautifully written. Sweetness and Blood goes off the beaten surf-path to give us a bigger, more interesting surf world.”

—Matt Warshaw, author of The Encyclopedia of Surfing

 

“Michael Scott Moore has delivered a perfect tale, filled with adventure, insight, and exquisite turns of phrase. For those who think surfing is just some Cali boys running around saying ‘dude,’ he shows that wherever there’s water, from Munich to the Gaza Strip, taking a ride on it means freedom—and the siren call is universal.”

—Deanne Stillman, author of Twentynine Palms: A True Story of Murder, Marines, and the Mojave

 

“Sweetness and Blood, Michael Scott Moore’s moving personal hejira through wave-riding’s undiscovered back country, is a constantly surprising and emotional ride as it proves both surf culture’s truly pervasive influence, and how the world of waves—wherever they may be, and whoever rides them—lead to the heart of the world itself.

—David Rensin, author of All for a Few Perfect

 

Waves: The Audacious Life and Legend of Rebel Surfer Miki Dora

“The most fun, riskiest, most joyful, highest form of travelogue lit. Everyone will have their favorite chapter and section. Like Theroux combined with the best part of the best travel story of vintage Granta magazine...love, love, love this book!”

—Joy Nicholson, author of The Road to Esmeralda

 

“A wonderful and engaging book, Sweetness and Blood combines folk history, pop art, and great, old-fashioned travel writing into a fun-filled tale of surfing’s global conquest. From the shell-shocked beaches of the Gaza Strip to the shell-packed beaches of Bali, Moore has packed enough cool cultural ephemera into this one volume to make this book a must-read for anyone interested the sport.”

—Steven Kotler, author of West of Jesus: Surfing, Science and the Origin of Belief

 

“Sweetness and Blood is a lively tour de force of travel writing and enterprising research that tells the truly fascinating story of surfing’s spread into unlikely corners of the globe. This is like Beach Boys music for the sun-hungry brain, imagination, and soul.”

—Francisco Goldman, author of The Art of Political Murder: Who Killed the Bishop

 

“Sweetness and Blood reveals a great deal about the evolution of surfing but even more about the currents of globalization—which are as complex and as hard to fathom as those of the ocean itself. There is a remarkable character, a surprising bit of history and a fresh insight on every single page of this wonderful book.”

—Ethan Watters, author of Crazy Like Us: The Globalization of the American Psyche