VIEW AND REVIEWS "A far-reaching oral history." -- New York Times “Until now enigmatic surfer legend Miki Dora’s history was written only in water, but David Rensin’s primo All for a Few Perfect Waves catches the life of this charismatic renegade.” Vanity Fair "This great book is (Dora's) iconoclastic epitaph." -- Times (London) “Engrossing… Rensin proves an inexhaustible interviewer, teasing out colorful tales never before set in print.” Men's Vogue “In this vivid biography, Rensin takes on a daunting task: to clarify the clouded myth of legendary surfer Miki Dora ... Rensin lets Dora’s friends, lovers and rivals tell the story. The result brings a remarkable focus to a man whose greatest accomplishments were written on water.” Publishers Weekly “David Rensin doesn’t shy from documenting Dora’s multitude of sins - the stealing and swindling, the juvenile pranks, the prison terms - even as he celebrates the man’s desire to live of a life of utter, and often utterly irresponsible, freedom.” Los Angeles Magazine Book of the week by a mile is David Rensin's excellent biog of Miki 'Da Cat' Dora - All For A Few Perfect Waves. - The Guardian/Observer, UK David Rensin talked to over 300 of Dora's family, friends and enemies, and such is his skill in weaving the strands together that any suspicion the subject matter might be too inconsequential to justify 475 close-packed pages is soon rejected in favour of a desire to know what happened next. And just when you feel you have half-understood this complex character, a final twist reveals how little you do know him. In Rensin's own words, Dora's story is "all about surfing, and not about surfing at all". - The Independent/UK “Unsparing and comprehensive, All For a Few Perfect Waves: The Audacious Life and Legend of Rebel Surfer Miki Dora pulls no punches in drawing a compelling portrait of Da Cat, warts and all, but leaves the final judgment to the reader..The book is remarkable in that it allows those around (the late) Dora to fill in the gaps of his life and eschews the demigod hero treatment that mars so much representation of Da Cat. What remains is Dora laid bare -- a portrait that’s breathtaking in its scope.” Surfer magazine “Above and beyond the call of unearthing the mystery that was Dora…a stunningly comprehensive tome…[an] incomparable body of work which will mess with both your mind and heart, the likes of which may forever set the literary sandbar, and rightfully so.” Eastern Surf Magazine "Scam artist, self-worshipping jerk and the most important figure in surf culture, Miki Dora taught us that surf stars, and crowds, and contests, and surf camps, and surf schools, and everything commercial about surfing is WRONG!!!! Unless, of course, you need to make money so you can surf, in which case it is okay; as long as you pontificate that to all who will listen that it isn't. A fabulous, insightful read!" - Scott Bass, Senior Online Editor, SURFER Magazine "From every perspective you got the whole picture right; the nuances, the contradictions, the love/hate of fame, the personality woven with the times, and most of all the fascination we all have with genius and sociopaths. It’s a great read, and brings up so many memories, not the least of which is the whole aspect of purity which each of us struggles with. Miki and I talked for hours about it – I still debate it today. Maybe that was Miki’s purpose: to remind us of our own foibles by hyper-extending them. "I also like the quote from me you so astutely inserted early on, (Miki did what he did) so we would be having these conversations today." - email from Jim Kempton Director of Media Billabong USA |
LOS ANGELES AREA Thanks to these stores and venues for inviting me to appear (and then disappear) BOOK SOUP LAGUNA BEACH BOOKS DIESEL SANTA MONICA PUBLIC LIBRARY LOS ANGELES TIMES FESTIVAL OF BOOKS READ ABOUT THE PANEL PALM SPRINGS BOOK FESTIVAL MAY 19 7:30 PM VILLAGE BOOKS 1049 Swarthmore Ave Pacific Palisades, CA 90272 JUNE 22 3PM CHAUCER'S BOOKS Loreto Plaza 3321 State Street Santa Barbara, CA 93105 (805) 682-6787 JUNE 24 7:30 PM WARWICK'S BOOK STORE 7812 Girard AVE La Jolla, CA 92037 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA MAY 13 7 PM COPPERFIELD'S BOOKS 138 N Main ST Sebastopol, CA 95472 MAY 14 7:30 PM CAPITOLA BOOK CAFE 1475 41st AVE Capitola, CA 95010 MAY 15 6 PM BOOK PASSAGE 42 1 Ferry Bldg San Francisco, CA 94111 HAWAII AUGUST 11th 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM BESTSELLERS BOOKS 1003 Bishop St Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 |
1. Bang! The Complete History of the Universe 2. Dancing With Life 3. Stop Whining, Start Living 4. The Soloist 5. Home 6. Standing Up to the Madness 7. All for a Few Perfect Waves 8. Bad Money 9. Girls Like Us 10.The Thirteen American Arguments |
Miki, Rincon 1964, by Grannis
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
 |
 |
| ALL FOR A FEW PERFECT WAVES ... M E D I A Reviews, excerpts, features/interviews,mentions, damnation, and praise.If it's not linked it doesn't appear online (yet?). Click title above to see what's posted. Tentatively scheduled, or has appeared, as of 05/07/2008 Times Online (London) The Independent/UK (4/20) New York Times 4/17 Publishers Weekly (2/11--scroll down) Surfer Magazine - (onsale now!) The Surfers Journal (late May) The Surfers Path (May) Men's Vogue (story/review on sale now) Eastern Surf Magazine Los Angeles Magazine (review/on sale now) Vanity Fair, Hot Type Column(on sale now) Outside Magazine, book review (May) Orange County Register, Corky Carroll's "Surf's Up" Amazon.com Hack Surfwriter.net review(2/19) Moli.com/Sports&Fitness (2/28) Playboy, book review -- May The Observer (UK) (3/30) The Wall Street Journal Online AMAZON.COM ...EXCLUSIVE Q&A TUBESTEAK'S VBLOG! Metro.co.uk (my first, uh ...bad review!) Santa Cruz Sentinel Fox Sports.com Online LONGBOARD MAGAZINE |
 |
 |
 |
| DID YOU READ THE BOOK? Please post a REVIEW or COMMENT online at AMAZON.COM or BN.COM (or anywhere you'd like). |
 |
| NEW & NEWS |
| "Nothing influences me. I just go straight ahead in my thinking. That's the way I do it. Now, I don't expect anyone to live my life. Why should they? It's pretty lonely. A very lonely, bizarre existence." -- Miki Dora, from "Surfers: The Movie" |
| New unpublished material added. Click HERE and scroll, baby, scroll. |
 |
I'M GRATEFUL & HONORED THAT
AMAZON.COM HAS CHOSEN
ALL FOR A FEW PERFECT WAVES
AS ONE OF ITS SIGNIFICANT
SEVEN/BEST BOOKS OF APRIL 2008!
CLICK LOGO <<- TO LEARN MORE.
AMAZON.COM HAS CHOSEN
ALL FOR A FEW PERFECT WAVES
AS ONE OF ITS SIGNIFICANT
SEVEN/BEST BOOKS OF APRIL 2008!
CLICK LOGO <<- TO LEARN MORE.
AMAZON.COM: David Rensin provides a rare look at the
famously guarded Dora through hundreds of interviews
with those who knew him best. The result is a portrait of
a life wedged between hyperbole and vulnerability.
famously guarded Dora through hundreds of interviews
with those who knew him best. The result is a portrait of
a life wedged between hyperbole and vulnerability.
| Russ Spencer of Bison Films interviews me about Miki and the book. Click here. |
 |
| Southern California Independent Booksellers Association Bestseller List for week ending 5/4/08 1. The Last Lecture 2. Just Who Will You Be? 3. A Wolf at the Table 4. Brotherhood of Warriors 5. Girls Like Us 6. What Now? 7. Maps and Legends 8. The Art of Simple Food 9. I Before E (Except After C) 10. All for a Few Perfect Waves 11. Bonk 12. Armageddon in Retrospect 13. A Remarkable Mother 14. Beautiful Boy 15. The Open Road |
| HARDCOVER NONFICTION BESTSELLERS 4/27/2008 11. All for a Few Perfect Waves |
| NON FICTION HARDCOVER APRIL 27 - MAY 3 |
| "From the depths of Hell to flying as high and free as an eagle -- and everything in betweeen -- All For a Few Perfect Waves left me laughing and crying at the same time. -- GREG NOLL, world class big wave rider |
| CORRECTIVE FOOTWEAR As always there are typographical errors and factual misunderstandings in any book. Here's a list we caught; they will be corrected in a subsequent printing or the paperback edition. Click here to read. Other "catches" welcome ... email to: themailroom@tellmeeverything.com |
Excerpt from Surfers: The Movie 1989, directed by Bill Delaney