Ghost Wave

The Discovery of Cortes Bank and the Biggest Wave on Earth

By: Chris Dixon

Narrated by: Chris Dixon

Rising from the depths of the North Pacific lies a fabled island, now submerged just 15 feet below the surface of the ocean. Rumors and warnings about Cortes Bank abound, but among big wave surfers, this legendary rock is famous for one simple (and massive) reason: this is the home of the biggest rideable wave on the face of the earth.

In this dramatic work of narrative non-fiction, journalist Chris Dixon unlocks the secrets of Cortes Bank and pulls listeners into the harrowing world of big wave surfing and high seas adventure above the most enigmatic and dangerous rock in the sea. The true story of this Everest of the sea will thrill anyone with an abiding curiosity of and respect for Mother Ocean.

©2011 Chris Dixon (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

amazing

i wish i could hang with Dixon and hear more about these stories. Enjoyed everything!

Adrenaline Fueled Explorers

Cortes Bank is an incredible place with some great history, not to mention possibly the biggest waves in the world. Dixon does an admirable job narrating, though the high stakes, thrill seeking drama could have benefitted from a professional. All in all it's a great listen if you are at all interested in big waves and adventure.

Please edit this book!

I counted at least a dozen flubs in the performance, (I.e. Coughs, repeated sentences, etc.). Great story but sloppy editing

Excellent Book!

If you liked Christopher McDougall’s “Born to Run” or James Nestor’s “Deep”, you’ll enjoy Chris Dixon’s “Ghost Wave”. I’d recommend all three books, even if you’re not an ultrarunner, freediver, or big-wave surfer. I love how all three books tell stories within the stories, about people, places, and history.

Chills

Pure adrenaline defined, excellent storytelling, strong backing research. Just try to stop listening; you won't.

One of the coolest stories of all time!

And very well told. Great for adventurers of any kind and for surfers in particular.

Get a professional reader!

It's a good story with rich background research by the author. He should have left the reading to a professional voice that would lend weight and drama to the telling. As it is, it's hard to listen to. Mr. Dixon's reading is sophomoric.

Overall disappointing

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No. I would recommend Susan Casey's The Wave instead.

Were the concepts of this book easy to follow, or were they too technical?

Not too technical, but some parts were overplayed. I got very tired of "listening" to various surfers exclaim that each wave they rode was giant and would probably kill them. Surfing is dangerous... yup. I get the point.

How could the performance have been better?

The performance of this book was atrocious. None of the reviews I read prior to listening to the book mentioned that the audio was completely UNEDITED. Thus, the listener has to hear numerous do-overs, repeating of phrases, coughing, and shuffling. I am quite certain the technology exists to have edited ALL of that out, but apparently someone failed to do so. It sounded like it was recorded in his garage. I am also disappointed with Audible for allowing such an unprofessional narration to exist in the Audible marketplace. I thought Audible had better standards for the audio books it sells.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No, but I prefer books to movies, so that is not relevant to my opinion of the book.

Any additional comments?

I have been a huge fan of Susan Casey's The Wave, so I was predisposed to like this book (Ghost Wave). Unfortunately, I think this book fell short of Casey's book in just about every way. The narration editing was nonexistent. Ghost Wave explores the history of Cortes Bank to a greater depth, but otherwise repeats many of the same surfing anecdotes that are in The Wave. I checked just to make sure, but The Wave was published first, so Ghost Waves re-telling of the same anecdotes seems like lazy journalism. The Wave provided a wider array of information about waves than just surfing. Ghost Wave seemed content to recount the actions of surfers, and less inclined to explore the experience of surfing as a whole. Instead, we are introduced to various surfers riding various big waves exclaiming how close to death they are. It is a fair point that big wave surfing is a very dangerous sport, but at some point, I got really tired of the "at death's door every moment" hyperbole. I get the danger, but I did not think that constantly emphasizing it brought the listener into the experience the same way Susan Casey's The Wave did. I am receiving no compensation whatsoever for writing this, but I honestly believe that if you are looking for great surfing/wave literature, Susan Casey's The Wave is, overweeningly,the better choice.

A Surfing Classic of Monster Waves

A Melville-style conquest of the Biggest Wave in the World, the story of the men who captured it—and those who were destroyed. Sherlock Holmes meets Adventure Tale.

Cortes Bank, the fabled land off the North Pacific, has the special elements to make the largest waves in the world. Dixon explains in depth why it's possible, and what it takes to surf it. Fascinating, frightening, thrilling.

Read by author

Would you consider the audio edition of Ghost Wave to be better than the print version?

Yes! Hearing it in the authors voice and tone really add to the experience!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Ghost Wave?

I enjoyed the maritime history of the bank, but the whole story is compelling and builds to a satisfying end.