This paperback edition of The Encyclopedia of Surfing is updated and revised from the 2003 edition, full of information about surfing and surf-inspired movies, music, and culture in traditional A-to-Z format. Many of the black and white illustrations and photos are of people included as entries. The entries vary in length, but most are not very long are mainly biographical, though some concern surfing terms like lull, roller coaster, and surf’s up.

Other articles are on things or people related to surfing, like the Beach Boys and particular movies. There are articles on different halls of fame for surfing like the Australian Surfing Hall of Fame, which name the members. Some entries discuss competitions and those who won them. The Encyclopedia’s international coverage includes women surfers, too.

The book opens with a brief history of surfing; the updates and additions to the 2003 edition are in an addendum. Various appendices follow, including selected surf contest results for 1954-2002, lists of surf movies, videos, and DVDs, surfing magazines listed by country, and a selected surf music discography. There are see also and see references throughout the book.

Author Matt Warshaw is a former editor of Surfer Magazine and a surfer himself. He has published articles in the New York Times Magazine and the Wall Street Journal. He is the author of Surf Movie Tonite! (2005), Zero Break (2004), Mavericks (2003) and Surfriders (1997) and co-authored Don James (2004), My California (2004), The Perfect Day (2003), Above the Roar (1997), and he is working on Surfing: an Illustrated History, due out in September 2009.

This book is recommended to those interested in surfing and makes a great reference resource on surfing for any library.