In a week that saw man-made waves of toxic sludge wash through Hungarian streets and into the Danube River, it’s good to be reminded that waves, real ocean waves, should be created by nature, not man.
A new book – perhaps the best book to explain where big waves come from, and man's attempt to understand them by riding atop them on 6-foot-long boards – has just hit the stands: The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean, by Susan Casey.
Casey teamed with big-surf rider Laird Hamilton and friends to help her understand the dynamics of manhandling big waves; she investigates the mystery of waves as well. Citing fascinating statistics such as the disappearance of two large ships every month on average worldwide, thanks to Mother Nature, Casey tries to explain exactly how, where, and why tsunami waves originate.
“One of my favorite stats from the book,” she told Time “is that an 18-inch wave can topple a wall built to withstand a 125 mph wind. Water is 800 times denser than air. So it’s very destructive … Meanwhile 60 percent of the global population lives within 30 miles of a coastline and we still don’t understand how these things really work.”
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