A vibrant celebration of surfers in and out of the water from an award-winning photographer. Here is an overfilled, beautiful book of the surf life, perfect for any coffee table and a great gift for anyone with a love of waves.

Professional photographer Thom Gilbert spent four years among surfer royalty at the top of their gamein Spain, New York, California, and Hawaiiwith his camera trained not only on tiny figures disappearing in the waves, but also on the surfers faces and bodies back on land. He returned from the beaches with intimate portraits of the worlds bestfrom the newest talent to the oldest and most reveredand also with dramatic action shots and revealing images of the culture.

Surfing is a sport, a lifestyle, and an extreme sport. Surfers, both men and women, have their choice of how to face the ocean and the challenges it provides.

They can explore the meditative calming experience of waiting and catching great waves. That happens on every seacoast in every part of the worldfrom the Hamptons to Florida and Texas to the Southern California coast made popular by the Beach Boys. They can take on the biggest, most dangerous waves in the world in places like Mavericks, California, and Nazar, Portugal, where surfing is an extreme sport. Or they can compete, earn big money and corporate sponsors, and join the tournament circuit that travels the world from Hawaii to Australia to South Africa.

No matter which choice you make, these images will strike a chord. Youll see it in the faces and bodies of the surfers. In the water, waves, and coasts featured, youll find the same joy and thrill that you get from your surfing experience.

The book features 300 photographs along with Q&As and handwritten contributions from prominent figures in the world surf scene. With a foreword by Garrett McNamara, Guinness World Record holder and star of the hit miniseries100 Foot Wave,Wavesis an ode to surfing and to the men and women who live it every day.