A finalist for the PEN Center USA Award for Nonfiction
Welcome to Paradise, Now Go to Hell, is surfer and former war reporter Chas Smith's wild and unflinching look at the high-stakes world of surfing on Oahu's North Shore--a riveting, often humorous, account of beauty, greed, danger, and crime.
For two months every winter, when Pacific storms make landfall, swarms of mainlanders, Brazilians, Australians, and Europeans flock to Oahu's paradisiacal North Shore in pursuit of some of the greatest waves on earth for surfing's Triple Crown competition. Chas Smith reveals how this influx transforms a sleepy, laid-back strip of coast into a lawless, violent, drug-addled, and adrenaline-soaked mecca.
Smith captures this exciting and dangerous place where locals, outsiders, the surf industry, and criminal elements clash in a fascinating look at class, race, power, money, and crime, set within one of the most beautiful places on earth. The result is a breathtaking blend of crime and adventure that captures the allure and wickedness of this idyllic golden world.
| ISBN: | 9780062202536 |
| Publication date: | 8th July 2014 |
| Author: | Jill Dawson |
| Publisher: | It Books an imprint of HarperCollins |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 256 pages |
| Genres: |
Biography: general History of art Photojournalism and documentary photography Biography: historical, political and military True crime Social, group or collective psychology Criminal law: procedure and offences History of the Americas Social and cultural history Sport: general History of sport Surfing, windsurfing, water skiing Local history Travel Travel and holiday guides |