There have been a lot of books in recent years about the potential consequences of climate change on our planet, but Susan Casey has approached the topic in a whole new way — through adrenalin-pumping stories about rogue waves crushing 850-foot cargo ships, tsunamis and surfing. In The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean Casey begins her narrative with a little history. For centuries, waves approaching 100 feet were thought to be anecdotal legend, along with mermaids and sea monsters. Then in February 2000, a research vessel, The Discovery, was caught in a bizarre storm in the North Sea. Ironically enough, they had ventured into the area to capture data about changes in currents, ocean temperature and wave measurements but off of the coast of Scotland, the ship was stranded for five days in a storm that wouldn’t let them out. Hour after hour, the captain of the vessel fought to keep the ship from being hit broadside by gigantic waves. Fortunately, the ship and crew made it home and all of the data was captured by the sophisticated instruments the ship carried. Turns out, 33% of the waves which struck the vessel were 61-feet high with frequent spikes far higher. Only the skill of the ship’s captain prevented another “lost vessel” tragedy. Casey uses about half of The Wave to write about ships lost at sea; about research being done around the world to see if climate change is changing the oceans’ weather; and the implications of these changes for our planet. The other half of the book is about surfing.

I didn’t think I was terribly interested in surfing, but you can’t get through this book without become totally engrossed in the madness of chasing big waves around the world and Casey was fortunate enough to tag along with Laird Hamilton, the god of giant-wave surfing. Honestly, every page of this book is a true-page turner, but I couldn’t let myself read this book immediately before bed because I would inevitably get so jacked up, I wouldn’t be able to sleep. Hamilton and his gang are smart, courageous and devoted to a life of surfing yet he doesn’t compete — he thinks it’s a copout to the sport — and his obsession pushes him to find new ways to conquer the biggest waves around the world. It was Hamilton who came up with the idea of being towed out on a jet ski to catch a wave too big to paddle to. Many times during the course of the book, I would go to YouTube to watch Hamilton in action — again, if you value a sound night’s sleep, it’s not something to do before bed.

The Wave is a tremendous book — not only is it entertaining, but I also feel I came away with a greater understanding about our oceans and their importance to life as we know it. ~Patti