Welcome to Paradise, Now Go to Hell
A True Story of Violence, Corruption, and the Soul of Surfing
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Welcome to Paradise, Now Go to Hell
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Narrated by:
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Chas Smith
About this listen
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.
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Featured Article: The Best Audiobooks About Surfing
Massive waves, breathtaking beauty, precious wildlife, extreme athleticism, spiritual allure— these are just a few of the things that draw people from all over the world to the ocean. For some, surfing is about adrenaline and adventure; for others, it can be a way to heal and connect with nature. Surfing audiobooks, both fiction and nonfiction, reflect this variety of perspectives, experiences, and philosophies. Find a list of the best surfing audiobooks, perfect for surfers, diehard surfing fans, ocean lovers, and even avid audiobook listeners looking for an exciting beach listen or an engaging nonfiction title.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Mischaracterization
- By Jennifer Jepsen on 08-08-22
By: Chas Smith
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Reports from Hell
- By: Chas Smith
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 22
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 18
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Story4 out of 5 stars 18
A gonzo ride through war-torn Yemen as only Chas Smith, the award-winning author of Welcome to Paradise, Now Go to Hell and Cocaine + Surfing: A Sordid History of Surfing's Greatest Love Affair, could provide. Follow Smith and his misfit band of merrymakers as they search for the true origins of Al Qaeda and endeavor to ride the unsurfed waves of Yemen all while exploring the slim opportunities for fun in the margins of our global war on terror and at any cost - even if it means eventual kidnapping by Hezbollah.
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5 out of 5 stars
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What a great listen
- By Anonymous User on 10-22-24
By: Chas Smith
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Krays
- The Final Word
- By: James Morton
- Narrated by: Alister Austin
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2
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Story5 out of 5 stars 2
Britain's most infamous criminals: the Kray twins. The extent of their activities has always been uncertain. But now, it is time for the conclusive account of their story, from their East End beginnings, to becoming the kingpins of London's underworld. This objective account, compiled by best-selling crime author and criminal lawyer James Morton, cuts through the conflicting versions of their stories and answers burning questions still being asked 50 years after their infamous conviction.
By: James Morton
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In Search of Captain Zero
- A Surfer's Road Trip Beyond the End of the Road
- By: Allan C. Weisbecker
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 316
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 278
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 282
In 1996, Allan Weisbecker sold his home and his possessions, loaded his dog and surfboards into his truck, and set off in search of his longtime friend and surfing companion, Christopher, who had vanished into the depths of Central America. In this rollicking memoir of his quest from Mexico to Costa Rica to unravel the circumstances of Christopher's disappearance, Weisbecker intimately describes the people he befriended, the bandits he evaded, and the waves he caught and lost en route to finding his friend.
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1 out of 5 stars
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another poser
- By will crow on 02-20-20
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Double Cross
- The Explosive Inside Story of the Mobster Who Controlled America
- By: Sam Giancana, Chuck Giancana, Tim Newark - foreword, and others
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 13 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 576
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 504
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 500
One of the most feared Chicago mobsters, Sam Giancana, clawed his way to the top of the Mafia hierarchy by starting as a hit man for Al Capone. He was known as one of the best vehicle escape artists, a tenacious business man, and a ruthless killer. He partied with major stars such as Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe and did business with agents ranging from the CIA to the Vatican to the shah of Iran. When politician Joe Kennedy gave Giancana the chance to use mob muscle to get his son John elected, Giancana jumped at the task.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Kennedy Assassination Solved
- By Darlene A. Geloso on 05-30-20
By: Sam Giancana, and others
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The Crime of the Century
- Richard Speck and the Murders That Shocked a Nation
- By: Dennis L. Breo, William J. Martin
- Narrated by: Christina Delaine
- Length: 18 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 509
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 456
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 455
On July 14th, 1966, Richard Franklin Speck swept through a quiet Chicago townhouse like a summer tornado and stabbed, strangled, and killed eight young nurses in a violent sexual rampage. By morning, only one nurse, Corazon Amurao, had miraculously survived, and her scream of terror was heard around the world. As the eight bodies were carried out of the small building, the coroner, who had seen the carnage up close, told a gathering crowd: "It is the crime of the century!"
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5 out of 5 stars
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All Of Your Roomates Murdered . . .
- By POLLY POIZENDEM on 04-21-17
By: Dennis L. Breo, and others
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In Deep
- The Collected Surf Writings
- By: Matt George
- Narrated by: Mat George
- Length: 18 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 6
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6
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Story5 out of 5 stars 6
A soulful collection of nearly four decades of surf writing. In Deep transports listeners into the heart of the surfing world’s culture through the eyes and imagination of a master storyteller. George’s personality profiles, perspective essays, and travel accounts achieve a level of frank articulation that, much like the works of Theroux, Krakauer, and Finnegan, reveal as much about the man as it does his subjects. Peak transcendence and quiet reflection, famous beaches and lost islands, competitive triumphs and personal tragedies.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Author is the reader
- By Amazon Customer on 12-07-24
By: Matt George
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Dock Boss
- Eddie McGrath and the West Side Waterfront
- By: Neil G. Clark
- Narrated by: Chris Andrew Ciulla
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 12
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 10
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 10
Dock Boss: Eddie McGrath and the West Side Waterfront is the fascinating account of one gangster's ascension from altar boy to the leader of New York City's violent Irish Mob. Eddie McGrath's life and crimes are traced through the tail-end of Prohibition, the gang warfare of the 1930s that propelled him into the position of an organized crime boss, the sordid years of underworld control over the bustling waterfront, McGrath's involvement in dozens of gangland murders, and finally the decline of the dock mobsters following a period of longshoremen rebellion in the 1950s.
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5 out of 5 stars
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You can't beat the detail
- By Andy Johnson on 05-05-20
By: Neil G. Clark
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Pipe Dreams
- A Surfer's Journey
- By: Kelly Slater
- Narrated by: Todd Haberkorn
- Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 90
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 76
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 76
Eleven-time world surfing champion, actor, and American heartthrob Kelly Slater tells his inspiring story of triumph over adversity. From Beach Blanket Bingo to Baywatch to Blue Crush, surfing has fascinated people for years, and Kelly Slater is the sport’s hottest star. He has won more world championships than any other competitor, and he continues to change peoples’ minds about what can and can’t be done on a surfboard.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Not about surfing
- By Deborah McCandless on 07-31-21
By: Kelly Slater
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Eddie Would Go
- The Story of Eddie Aikau, Hawaiian Hero and Pioneer of Big Wave Surfing
- By: Stuart Holmes Coleman
- Narrated by: Kaipo Schwab
- Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 4
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 4
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Story5 out of 5 stars 4
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. 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."
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Mob Cop
- My Life of Crime in the Chicago Police Department
- By: Fred Pascente, Sam Reaves
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 111
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 100
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 98
Former Chicago police officer and Outfit associate Fred Pascente is the man who links Tony Spilotro, one of Chicago's most notorious mob figures, to William Hanhardt, chief of detectives in the Chicago Police Department. Pascente and Spilotro grew up together on Chicago's Near West Side, and as young toughs they were rousted and shaken down by Hanhardt.
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1 out of 5 stars
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So bad.
- By Nick on 04-14-17
By: Fred Pascente, and others
What listeners say about Welcome to Paradise, Now Go to Hell
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 02-13-21
Real
Good listen
I lived Chaz's North Shore experience in the 80's for about 17 years.
It was the Balls I have so many crazy intense soul filling memories !
Thanks Chaz but beat u to it I just wasn't keen enough to write a book.
I actually took on Heavier than you.
Hawaiian Mana is Real !!!
Thank you Hawaii Nea!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Michael
- 12-04-22
Another view of the the surf industry and the north shore
Chaz is a good writer with a sense of social intelligence of a complex local North Shote hierarchy. Worth a read.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- D. J. Robesky
- 11-23-21
If you are a true Surfer you must surf on the North Shore, Once
This is an excellent book, which documents the intricacies of the violent realities that exist for any surfer who feel they have the mettle, thevbravery and enough mental screws loose in their mindset to endure the alpha male dominated, day to night 24 hour chose and drama. I liken this book to Jon Krakauer’s, “In to Thin Air,” an adventure nonfiction book about similar in chaos and drama that unfolds while climbing mount Everest. That's a tall order to claim, I know! However, being a surfer and mountainer myself, I can relate to the this amazing piece of journalism. Plus the narration is done by author, Chas Smith. He is remarkable in telling his story.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 06-06-23
a truly entrancing novel.
having no background to surfing, and never even seeing the Pacific, this book kept me.
as much as it follows one man, this book truly is the voice of hundreds. engaging from the point of several cultures and where they meet. time to visit Hawaii with a new found respect, and hesitancy.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- tanya
- 06-16-23
Amazing
Loved everything about this book. I’m a lover of Oahu! I’ll forever look at the North Shore from a new perspective. I felt like I was night next to the author!
Amazing writer!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- TillerPhoto5280
- 10-26-24
Him learning about north shore
I am learning how to surf on Oahu. And books like this totally help with why I want to learn.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Chaffed
- 12-25-20
Pink Button Down
Finished it in 2 or 3 days. I found it really interesting. . . .
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mark
- 07-20-22
Huh, we’ll damn
I get Chaz now. He writes very well, but not sure if he’s brave or stupid
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- jason Moyer
- 08-02-23
If you surf this is the book for you
The most fun book of you have ever followed the WSL or how it used to be known as the ASP. North shore folk lore is our Greek mythology.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Paul
- 09-17-21
A wake up call for any wanna-be pro surfers...
Amazing insight into the racism of the Hawaiian people on the North Shore. What is a "haole" supposed to do when he's standing in a room full of natives, and one decides to sucker-punch him in the face for no reason? Nothing, apparently, if he wants to walk out of there eventually.
The author seems to worship these violent idiots for some reason that I don't understand. Self preservation? Not sure. Very interesting glimpse into a dark subculture though.
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1 person found this helpful