A review by cmcarr
Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan

3.0

When the writing is good, I can really enjoy reading a memoir about someone who I know nothing about. It spurs my own self-reflection to read about how others process their lives, and draw meaningful threads. This book was a perfect summer read--particularly a summer that involved surfing in California and Indonesia. I'm not sure whether non-surfers would enjoy this. There is a lot of detail about the intricacies of surfing that I think would be hard to make sense of without the context. But with a little experience, even a mediocre surfer like myself could get caught up in the thrill of his surfing adventures. I also appreciated his explanation of the scientific approach to surfing--the careful study to master each wave, to unlock the secrets of each surf break. Finnegan has lived quite a life, and it's fun to follow his path for a bit.