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Nabaza.net-The MarketPlace - All for a Few Perfect Waves: The Audacious Life and Legend of Rebel Surfer Miki Dora
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List Price: $25.95
Our Price: $17.13
Your Save: $ 8.82 ( 34% )
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Manufacturer: HarperEntertainment
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 797.32092
EAN: 9780060773311
ISBN: 0060773316
Label: HarperEntertainment
Manufacturer: HarperEntertainment
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 475
Publication Date: 2008-04-08
Publisher: HarperEntertainment
Release Date: 2008-04-08
Studio: HarperEntertainment
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Editorial Reviews:
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There will never be another surfer like Miki "Da Cat" Dora. All for a Few Perfect Waves is the story of Miki "Da Cat" Dora, the dashing and enigmatic rebel who, for twenty years, was the king of Malibu surfers. He dominated the waves, ruled his peers' imaginations, and—to this day—inspires the fantasies of decades of Dora wannabes who began to swarm his pristine paradise after the movie Gidget helped surfing explode into the mainstream and changed it forever—many say for the worse. Disenchanted, Dora railed against the ruination; angry that the waves were no longer his own, he fought back—or found better things to do. Dora was also an avid sportsman, raconteur, philosopher, traveler—and scam artist of wide repute. When, in 1973, he finally ran afoul of the law, he soon abandoned America and led the FBI and Interpol on a seven-year chase around the globe. At the same time, he never gave up searching for (and occasionally finding) the empty waves and spirit of the Malibu he'd lost. From homes in New Zealand to South Africa to France, he continued to personify the rebel heart of surfing and has been widely acknowledged as "the most relentlessly committed surfer of all time." The New York Times named him "the most renegade spirit the sport has yet to produce." Vanity Fair called him "a dark prince of the beach." The Times (London) wrote, "A hero to a generation of beach bums. He was tanned . . . good-looking . . . trouble." To capture Dora's never-before-told story, David Rensin spent four years interviewing more than three hundred of Dora's friends, enemies, family members, lovers, and peers—none of whom would previously talk in depth about him—to uncover the truth about surfing's most outrageous practitioner, charismatic prince, chief antihero, committed loner, and enduring mystery. The result is a riveting and living portrait of an uncommon character whose unique influence on surfing has never waned, and who became what most can never be: a legend in his own time.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book, thanks for writing it!
Comment: Wow, nice read. I enjoyed it to the end.
Did the Myth transcend the Man?
Awesome!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Completely fascinating and compelling!
Comment: I'm not a surfer, but I came upon this book, and just couldn't put it down. Miki Dora has to be one of the most charismatic, complex hero/anti-heroes on the American scene in the last fifty years, and David Rensin investigated every nook and cranny of his life with loving precision. This is epic. It reminds me of EDIE. Someone should make a movie of this -- fast. (Maybe Jon Hamm, from MAD MEN, as Miki?) Meanwhile, read it and yearn to be on a beach in the '50s or '60s or '70s. Bravo!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Really Can't Understand The Complainers Here!
Comment: I surfed with Dora in '58-'62. No, let me say, I was in the water at the same time on dozens and dozens of mornings and afternoons, but NEVER SURFED with Dora. Nobody surfed WITH Dora. He was a bullying competitor, bold adventurer, pirate, pioneer, and a loner. He was in his own dream and happily so. Now then, for those who require a more intimate picture of the athlete, watch films for insight into his ability but don't complain about the author denying information. My view of the book is that it is an extraordinary compilation of facts, fiction and rumors which is ALL there is....Nobody who ever attempted to really do the "tighten-up" with Miki succeeded. He came from a line of cold-blooded Russians! He was endlessly competitive, fiercely mistreated by many and blazed an enigmatic trail not equalled since. There were no $10K checks given to surfers in his day, no grand-stands with blaring bull-horns and if someone wanted to live the "life" one had to have a rare hook-up with an established surf shop, thereby making a rather paltry wage to mow foam or suck fumes. He didn't accept that and had only one engagement with Noll that was the genesis of the "CAT" model, a forward thinking "log" with bottom channels, low rocker and high weight/density. Didn't take off because it required an experienced, skilled rider, cost more and was heavier than most boards of it's day. I bought one, rode it and made it a wall hanger because it was so pretty but not a very functional surfboard for So. Cal beachbreaks I was in at the time. Anyway, Dora ran an ad in the mid or possibly early 60's trying to recruit some guys to go to Central America and join in with the pillaging going on at the time. Weed was coming in from Mexico by the ton and for many in the sport, became an investment which put them into property ownership. Those who failed went to jail unfortunately. Nowadays, it all seems so romantic and "exciting" but at the time, prejudice raged against long hair and youthful vigor. What is important to remember about Southern California and the turf of guys like Dora, was the bland, cookie-cutter lifestyle that was being marketed in Orange County! Nixon and John Birch Society Republicans were openly setting up shop and there wasn't any room for those "bohemians" or non-conformists. Not unlike today, the Republicans and Military played a feature role as well. I grew up as a surfer in that environment, and Dora was the "black knight" of that period. It would be hard to say that any of us "loved" him but we sure didn't try to steal any of "his" waves either! There was respect shown, fear was prevalent and wisely so. For those curious "complainers" whose reviews are contained herein, you missed it guys, but you didn't miss much except reports of wild-man Dora, the wacky explorer and wishing deep-down that you would hear he'd "made it" one day. He was a dreamer and a schemer but not a person who would tell stories 'round the campfire".....This is a good book, maybe the best so far on Dora, but I'd buy it elsewhere not Amazon! Amazon stinks as do many jealous surfers.
Customer Rating:
Summary: intriguing character study
Comment: great biography... miki is a fascinating individual... I'd seen him rant in the movie "Surfers" a long time ago and read about him but never had any insight into who he really was until now... he's like the diamonds he coveted and sought to find on one of his many traveling adventures, troublesome and difficult but endlessly intriguing and charismatic... Rensin covers all the facets of this one person at odds with society and its rules, who at the bottom of it all just wants to be free... a thematic and compelling read.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Where's the surf?
Comment: This is a well-researched book about a semi-famous con artist and grifter. The man who invented localism, one of surfing's ugliest manifestations, is presented as some kind of exalted being for his appearance of never having "sold out", while cheating, lying, stealing, forging passports, and promoting himself to his advantage at every opportunity. This story would have been far more interesting had the author provided some insight into Miki Dora the SURFER, which I presume is his primary motivation and after all, is what he was originally known for-surfing at Malibu "in the day". Without a good feel for the man as a surfer, and discussion of his style, wave preference or performance in the water, and other aspects of him as a surfer, we get a picture of a person behaving selfishly and irresponsibly, period. Why make a 450-page biography about a surfer without discussing that aspect of his life? I could have done without all of the apologists trying to make him out as some kind of wise sage because he was so misunderstood. Oh, poor Miki, who pretended to be broke while making his friends put him up and take care of his every need, then died with $400,000.00 in the bank. Poor fella. Face it, he was a sham who promoted himself into a myth that just didn't exist. Was he a good surfer? Worthy of the reputation? I don't know. I'll have to wait for another book to get that part of his life, I guess.
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