Welcome to Paradise, Now Go to Hell: A True Story of Violence, Corruption, and the Soul of Surfing - Softcover

Smith, Chas

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0062202537 ISBN 13: 9780062202536

Publisher: It Books, 2014

Synopsis

By Smith, Chas ( Author ) [ Welcome to Paradise, Now Go to Hell: A True Story of Violence, Corruption, and the Soul of Surfing By Jul-2014 Paperback

About this title

Review:

"Absolutely the most entertaining surf book in years, a breathless adrenalized romp. More importantly, it's a jaw-dropping introduction to Smith's greatest--and most promising--literary creation, himself. This man-and this book-are both going places."--Daniel Duane, author of Caught Inside: A Surfer's Year on the California Coast

A vivid and somewhat disconcerting depiction of the world of surfing and its attendant problems . . . An uncommon read for those interested in surfing or those seeking a look at Hawaii from a vantage point not normally found in history books.--Library Journal

A mix of reportage and gonzo journalism.... [with] trenchant...astute observations.... If Hunter S. Thompson circa Hell's Angels merged with a fashion critic to write about surfing for Maxim, the result might be similar.--Publishers Weekly

Smith grabs us with his first sentence [with] this exciting and revelatory book--Booklist

[A] ripping profile of the surf culture on Oahu's North Shore . . . Smith['s] storytelling is taught . . .--Wall Street Journal

Smith doesn't simply stand in judgment. He loves the world of the North Shore, and he hates it. With gleeful defiance and feral wit, he harnesses his ambivalence to fuel this compulsive, wild ride of a book.--Sydney Morning Herald, Pick of the Week

A wild and unflinching look at the adrenalin-soaked world of surfing.--Melbourne Herald Sun

"Chas Smith is a stone-cold original-a globe-trotting, war-reporting, motorcycle-driving, cigarette-smoking, tube-riding, fashion-obsessed international dandy with a penchant for dangerous people, places, and, most of all, prose. Welcome To Paradise, Now Go To Hell is absolutely the most entertaining surf book in years, a breathless adrenalized romp."--Daniel Duane, author of Caught Inside, A Surfer's Year on the California Coast

A book of real literary style and grace . . . gleefully mischievous . . . handles like a '54 Porsche: smooth, glamorous, and totally out of control.--Flaunt

Made me think hard about the North Shore . . . To the best of my knowledge, nothing like it exists."--The Inertia

From the Back Cover:

A finalist for the PEN Center USA Award for Nonfiction

For two months every winter, when Pacific storms make landfall, Oahu's paradisical North Shore turns into a fiery hell. Its population more than triples as mainlanders, Brazilians, Australians, and Europeans transform the normally sleepy shore into a lawless, violent, drug-addled, and adrenaline-soaked mecca where fearless men paddle into thirty-foot waves breaking over a razor-sharp reef. And when the sun goes down, the true danger comes out as drug money, fights, murder, and extortion rule the surfing underworld. The North Shore during winter is downright dangerous but also exhilarating, and Chas Smith paints a true picture of what it feels like to be in the middle of it all. Welcome to Paradise, Now Go to Hell is both a breathtaking and wildly funny tale of beauty, wickedness, and the unyielding allure of ocean waves in all their glory.

About this edition

• Publisher: It Books
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0062202537
• ISBN 13: 9780062202536
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256