Annotations: Ahrens, Ambrose, Bartholomew

As part of a research project, I have produced an annotated bibliography of 129 nonfiction texts, all associated with aquatic subjects. I read far further in water-related fiction and nonfiction in the last eight months, but I decided on the specific bibliography in relation to teaching my courses, English 1A, English 93, and the prospective elective "Literature and the (Aquatic) Environment." Of course, not all 129 books on my list would suit our courses, but I had to read (or reread) to discover such fitness or lack of fitness. I share my findings for each one itself and for the critical model at work.

Here are the first three books in the bibliography:

Ahrens, Chris. Good Things Love Water: A Collection of Surf Stories. Cardiff, CA: Chubasco, 1994

This is a playful collection, good on details and in touch with the early days of the Southern California and Hawaiian surf-scenes. Mostly, Ahrens shares stories from the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. He sets up each story, and then lets the narrative unfold. Ahrens has a bit of a chip on his shoulder--past teachers had told him he'd never be a writer--but that just adds energy to the delivery.


Ambrose, Greg. Shark Bites: True Tales of Survival. Honolulu, HI: Bess Press, 1996.

The perfect beach read, in its way, with these stories of shark attacks in an accessible, brief form: "bites." Not much in the way of science, but the emphasis on the human element makes this volume good for borrowing to use with students.


Bartholomew, Wayne "Rabbit," and Tim Baker. Bustin' Down the Door. New York: Harper Collins, 2002.

Set mostly in the mid-1970s, Bustin' Down the Door is a useful history through the eyes of a key participant in the short board revolution and in the Hawaiian/Australian explosion when the trash-talking sports from Down Under discover that the native Hawaiians, frustrated by the history and legacy of oppression by outsiders, consider such trash-talking to be disrespectful to a potentially fatal degree. The book documents both Rabbit's career and the development of professional surfing.

The DVD of the same name would be a wonderful companion; the DVD is better at focusing on the developing dream of professional surfing, as surfing as an actual sport in popular culture, than the book. The DVD would be the better choice when teamed with Coleman's Eddie Would Go.


Postscript: Good sports writing and popular science writing can be golden for our students. Real-world-based prose (if that phrase works for you); usually accessible to the common reader, though usually demanding as well; often quite dramatic in nature; replete with information, imagery, and action.