{"product_id":"welcome-to-paradise-now-go-to-hell-a-true-story-of-violence-corruption-and-the-soul-of-surfing-isbn-9780062202529","title":"Welcome to Paradise, Now Go to Hell: A True Story of Violence, Corruption, and the Soul of Surfing","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA finalist for the PEN Center USA Award for Nonfiction\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWelcome to Paradise, Now Go to Hell, \u003c\/em\u003eis 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSmith 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.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA finalist for the PEN Center USA Award for Nonfiction\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor two months every winter, when Pacific storms make landfall, Oahu's paradisical North Shore turns into a fiery hell. Its normal population of sixteen thousand more than triples and this explosion of mainlanders, Brazilians, Australians, and Europeans creates one of the most combustible milieus on earth. Waves, like gold and oil, are a limited resource and, as such, are fiercely fought over by the visiting hordes, the surf industry, other Hawaiian islanders, and North Shore residents. The otherwise sleepy North Shore becomes a lawless, violent, drug-addled, and adrenaline-soaked mecca.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt takes uniquely fearless men to paddle into thirty-foot waves breaking over a razor-sharp reef hidden beneath three feet of water. Death and maiming are regular occurrences during North Shore winters. Yet when the sun dips, the fearless become truly scared. You see, the ocean has rules. The men who haunt the land do not. And so they whisper about helter-skelter violence dished out by larger-than-life Hawaiians. They whisper about being choked, slapped, and bloodied for breaking unspoken codes of conduct. About the protection money extracted from the surf brands that want to hold their contests on the North Shore. About drug running, fights, and maybe even murders. And then they return to multimillion-dollar beachfront homes and drown their anxiety with cocaine and booze. But they know they are not safe. Because no one is ever safe here.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe surf world is far more volatile and complex than outsiders know or popular depictions would have us believe, and the North Shore during winter is its most extreme representation. It is downright dangerous but also exhilarating, and this story paints a true picture of what it feels like to be in the middle of it all. It is both a breathtaking and wildly funny tale of beauty, wickedness, and the unyielding allure of ocean waves in all their glory.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003eA mix of reportage and gonzo journalism….  [with] trenchant…astute observations…. If Hunter S. Thompson circa Hell’s Angels merged with a fashion critic to write about surfing for Maxim, the result might be similar. - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSmith grabs us with his first sentence [with] this exciting and revelatory book . . . Smith explores not just the allure and popularity of surfing, but also the business side of the sport . . . and the drugs and violence that sweep into the North Shore when the surfing competitions come to Hawaii. Told in an energetic, first-person style that one of Smith’s magazine editors dubbed “trash prose,” the book is a sure-fire hit with fans of surfing literature. - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSmith grabs us with his first sentence [with] this exciting and revelatory book - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Absolutely the most entertaining surf book in years, a breathless adrenalized romp. More importantly, it’s a jaw-dropping introduction to Smith’s greatest--and most promising--literary creation, himself. This man-and this book-are both going places.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDaniel Duane, author of Caught Inside: A Surfer's Year on the California Coast\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e[A] ripping profile of the surf culture on Oahu’s North Shore . . . Smith[’s] storytelling is taught, he leaps from person to person, from seaside mansion to inland shack, from history to history, sometimes all on the same page and in ways that slice deep . . . a crack reporter at his best when crouched in the curl of others’ stories. - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e[A] ripping profile of the surf culture on Oahu’s North Shore . . . Smith[’s] storytelling is taught . . . - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA vivid and somewhat disconcerting depiction of the world of surfing and its attendant problems . . .  An uncommon read for those interested in surfing or those seeking a look at Hawaii from a vantage point not normally found in history books. - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA hip exposé of Hawaii’s North Shore surfing culture . . . the droll personal narrative, evocative of Hunter S. Thompson at times, entertains, while superior reporting informs and illuminates much about the surf industry’s peculiar machinations, its cavalcade of sun-bleached heroes and the troubled history of Hawaii itself . . . effortlessly shifting from the profound to the profane. - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA hip exposé of Hawaii’s North Shore surfing culture . . . entertains, while superior reporting informs and illuminates much about the surf industry’s peculiar machinations, its cavalcade of sun-bleached heroes and the troubled history of Hawaii itself . . . effortlessly shifting from the profound to the profane. - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Chas Smith is a stone-cold original-a globe-trotting, war-reporting, motorcycle-driving, cigarette-smoking, tube-riding, fashion-obsessed international dandy with a penchant for dangerous people, places, and, most of all, prose. Welcome To Paradise, Now Go To Hell is absolutely the most entertaining surf book in years, a breathless adrenalized romp.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDaniel Duane, author of Caught Inside, A Surfer's Year on the California Coast\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA book of real literary style and grace . . . gleefully mischievous  . . . handles like a ‘54 Porsche: smooth, glamorous, and totally out of control. - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eFlaunt\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMade me think hard about the North Shore . . . To the best of my knowledge, nothing like it exists.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Inertia\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSmith doesn’t simply stand in judgment. He loves the world of the North Shore, and he hates it. With gleeful defiance and feral wit, he harnesses his ambivalence to fuel this compulsive, wild ride of a book. - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSydney Morning Herald, Pick of the Week\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA wild and unflinching look at the adrenalin-soaked world of surfing. - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMelbourne Herald Sun\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Dey Street Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44889191121125,"sku":"NP9780062202529","price":25.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780062202529.jpg?v=1730230718","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/welcome-to-paradise-now-go-to-hell-a-true-story-of-violence-corruption-and-the-soul-of-surfing-isbn-9780062202529","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}