Contact us on (02) 8445 2300
For all customer service and order enquiries

Woodslane Online Catalogues

9780252086526 Add to Cart Academic Inspection Copy

Surf and Rescue

George Freeth and the Birth of California Beach Culture
  • ISBN-13: 9780252086526
  • Publisher: UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS PRESS
    Imprint: UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS PRESS
  • By Patrick Moser
  • Price: AUD $54.99
  • Stock: 2 in stock
  • Availability: Order will be despatched as soon as possible.
  • Local release date: 28/06/2022
  • Format: Paperback (229.00mm X 152.00mm) 248 pages Weight: 370g
  • Categories: Biography: sport [BGS]
Description
Author
Biography
Google
Preview

The mixed-race Hawaiian athlete George Freeth brought surfing to Venice, California, in 1907. Over the next twelve years, Freeth taught Southern Californians to surf and swim while creating a modern lifeguard service that transformed the beach into a destination for fun, leisure, and excitement. Patrick Moser places Freeths inspiring life story against the rise of the Southern California beach culture he helped shape and define. Freeth made headlines with his rescue of seven fishermen, an act of heroism that highlighted his innovative lifeguarding techniques. But he also founded Californias first surf club and coached both male and female athletes, including Olympic swimming champion and "father of modern surfing" Duke Kahanamoku. Often in financial straits, Freeth persevered as a teacher and lifeguarding pioneer--building a legacy that endured long after his death during the 1919 influenza pandemic.

A compelling merger of biography and sports history, Surf and Rescue brings to light the forgotten figure whose novel way of seeing the beach sparked the imaginations of people around the world.

Patrick Moser is a professor of French at Drury University and editor of Pacific Passages: An Anthology of Surf Writing.

 

 

Google Preview content