Eddie Would Go: The Story of Eddie Aikau, Hawaiian Hero and Pioneer of Big Wave Surfing

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From Publishers Weekly

Eddie Aikau was the most famous and respected Hawaiian surfer since the legendary Duke Kahanamoku brought surfing to national attention in the 1920s. Coleman’s thoughtful and detailed biography is the best look at Aikau’s story since the surfer died in 1978 paddling for help after the historic Canoe Hokulea (a twin-hulled boat modeled after the ancient Polynesian vessels that brought the first settlers to the islands of Hawaii) was capsized in a huge storm. Coleman brings his skills as an essayist and poet to weave the many strands of Aikau’s life into a coherent picture of how Aikau’s story “was also the story of modern Hawai’i.” Coleman nicely describes how Aikau-born in 1946 into a “spiritually divided” postwar Hawaiian culture torn between “Hawai’ian roots and American dreams”-helped define a new image of Hawaii in the 1950s and ’60s, as part of the first modern surfing expeditions to the Oahu’s North Shore and its huge waves at the now-classic Pipeline and Waimea Bay beaches. (“Eddie would go” is now the standard surfing phrase used to determine if a surfer should attempt to ride a particularly daunting wave.) Coleman shows how Aikau’s life between 1967 and 1977 was “a strange mix of calm and chaos,” with Aikau working as a Waimea Bay lifeguard between local and international surf competitions, culminating in his winning the prestigious Duke Kahanamoku Classic in 1977. But Coleman also smartly observes how Aikau’s desire to join the crew of the voyaging Hokulea-which was attempting to show that ancient Polynesian sailors had purposely sailed to the islands-was itself an example of the resurgent interest by Hawaiians to explore and reclaim their cultural identity and further added to Aikau’s ongoing status as a Hawaiian hero.
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Review

“A homespun homage to a modern-day folk hero…you’ll see why St. Martin’s decided to take Eddie nationwide–and why it’s attracting loving glances from Hollywood.” ―Brad Wieners, Outside Magazine

“Splendid…clear and fascinating.” ―Greg Ambrose, San Francisco Chronicle

“Enlightening…an impressive history…of surfing…of Hawaiian culture both at home and across the world.” ―Matt Walker, Surfing Magazine

“Eddie Aikau’s life is a story waiting to be told, and it could not have been told any better than in Stuart Coleman’s Eddie Would Go. This is a bestseller in the same way as the The Perfect Storm.” ―Peter Cole, Big-Wave Surfing Pioneer

“It’s amazing the impact Eddie had on the surfing world and Hawaii. It touches the community at a real grass-roots level.” ―Kelly Slater, World Champion Surfer

“A meaningful biography of a surfing hero…extraordinary.” ―Terry Rogers, The San Diego Union-Tribune

“Coleman, a surfer himself, does an admirable job of de-mystifying this remarkable man.” ―Terry Tomalin, The St. Petersburg Times

“Fantastic…a treat to read.” ―Mark Cunningham, Honolulu Weekly

 

From the Inside Flap

In the 1970s, a decade before bumper stickers and T-shirts bearing the phrase Eddie Would Go began popping up all over the Hawaiian islands and throughout the surfing world, Eddie Aikau was proving what it meant to be a “waterman.” As a fearless and gifted surfer, he rode the biggest waves in the world; as the first and most famous Waimea Bay lifeguard on the North Shore, he saved hundreds of lives from its treacherous waters; and as a proud Hawaiian, he sacrificed his life to save the crew aboard the voyaging canoe Hokule’a.

Eddie Would Go is the compelling story of Eddie Aikau’s legendary life and legacy, a pipeline into the exhilarating world of surfing, and an important chronicle of the Hawaiian Renaissance and the emergence of modern Hawaii.

“Splendid…clear and fascinating.”–Greg Ambrose, San Francisco Chronicle

“Enlightening…an impressive history…of surfing…of Hawaiian culture both at home and across the world.”–Matt Walker, Surfing Magazine

“Eddie Aikau’s life is a story waiting to be told, and it could not have been told any better than in Stuart Coleman’s Eddie Would Go. This is a bestseller in the same way as the The Perfect Storm.”–Peter Cole, Big-Wave Surfing Pioneer

“It’s amazing the impact Eddie had on the surfing world and Hawaii. It touches the community at a real grass-roots level.”–Kelly Slater, World Champion Surfer

“A meaningful biography of a surfing hero…extraordinary.”
-Terry Rogers, The San Diego Union-Tribune

“Coleman, a surfer himself, does an admirable job of de-mystifying this remarkable man.”
-Terry Tomalin, The St. Petersburg Times

“Fantastic…a treat to read.”-Mark Cunningham, Honolulu Weekly

 

From the Back Cover

In the 1970s, a decade before bumper stickers and T-shirts bearing the phrase Eddie Would Go began popping up all over the Hawaiian islands and throughout the surfing world, Eddie Aikau was proving what it meant to be a “waterman.” As a fearless and gifted surfer, he rode the biggest waves in the world; as the first and most famous Waimea Bay lifeguard on the North Shore, he saved hundreds of lives from its treacherous waters; and as a proud Hawaiian, he sacrificed his life to save the crew aboard the voyaging canoe Hokule’a.

Eddie Would Go is the compelling story of Eddie Aikau’s legendary life and legacy, a pipeline into the exhilarating world of surfing, and an important chronicle of the Hawaiian Renaissance and the emergence of modern Hawaii.

“Splendid…clear and fascinating.”–Greg Ambrose, San Francisco Chronicle

“Enlightening…an impressive history…of surfing…of Hawaiian culture both at home and across the world.”–Matt Walker, Surfing Magazine

“Eddie Aikau’s life is a story waiting to be told, and it could not have been told any better than in Stuart Coleman’s Eddie Would Go. This is a bestseller in the same way as the The Perfect Storm.”–Peter Cole, Big-Wave Surfing Pioneer

“It’s amazing the impact Eddie had on the surfing world and Hawaii. It touches the community at a real grass-roots level.”–Kelly Slater, World Champion Surfer

“A meaningful biography of a surfing hero…extraordinary.”
-Terry Rogers, The San Diego Union-Tribune

“Coleman, a surfer himself, does an admirable job of de-mystifying this remarkable man.”
-Terry Tomalin, The St. Petersburg Times

“Fantastic…a treat to read.”-Mark Cunningham, Honolulu Weekly

 

About the Author

Stuart Holmes Coleman moved to Hawaii in 1993 to teach, write, and surf. His essays and poems have appeared in numerous publications, including The Washington Post, USA Today, The Atlanta Review, and The Honolulu Advertiser. He is the author of Eddie Would Go: Eddie Would Go: The Story of Eddie Aikau, Hawaiian Hero and Pioneer of Big Wave Surfing and Fierce Heart: The Story of Makaha and the Soul of Hawaiian Surfing, and lives in Honolulu, Hawaii.

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