Eddie Would Go: the Story of Eddie Aikau, Hawaiian Hero by Coleman, Stuart Holmes Coleman
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Product Details
- Pub. Date: December 2002
- Publisher: J L B Press
- Format: Hardcover, 271pp
- ISBN-13: 9780970621375
- ISBN: 097062137X
Synopsis
Eddie Would Go is the only biography of one of Hawai'i's greatest heroes. Eddie Aikau was a humble man who was larger than life. As a surfer, he rode the biggest waves in the world; as a lifeguard, he saved hundreds of lives from the North Shore's treacherous waters; and as a proud Hawaiian, he sacrificed his life to save his fellow sailors aboard the voyaging canoe Hokule'a. But more than a biography of a courageous waterman, Stuart Coleman's Eddie Would Go also tells the story of modern Hawai'i and Eddie's role in the Hawaiian Renaissance during the 1970's. The book is based on numerous interviews with family and friends, along with Hawai'i's leading watermen and scholars, and Coleman weaves together their memories in an exciting and informative story. By exploring his legendary life and legacy, this book will show why Eddie has become such an enduring icon in Hawai'i and the surfing world.
Biography
Stuart Holmes Coleman moved to Hawaii in 1993 to teach, write, and surf. His essays and poems have appeared in numerous publications, including The Washington Post, USA Today, The Surfer's Path, The Atlanta Review, Charleston Magazine and Honolulu Magazine. Eddie Would Go is his first book.
Customer Reviews
Eddie Would Go: the Story of Eddie Aikau, Hawaiian Heroby Anonymous
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February 12, 2006: Without a doubt one of the best books i have ever read! Don't miss this one! Wonderfully written and does justice to all involved.
Eddie Would Go: the Story of Eddie Aikau, Hawaiian Heroby Anonymous
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December 16, 2002: How's this for a myth? A handsome young man grows up on a beautiful island, living close to nature. He finds a slab of spear-like board and discovers he can use it to challenge waves bigger than anyone thought could be tamed. He rides them flawlessly as they thunder and crash around him. Even his daily life is extraordinary: He patrols beaches to save those who venture out too far --- and no one dies, ever, on his watch. Then comes a mythic opportunity to recreate an ancient voyage. Soon after the double-hulled canoe sails, however, it runs into trouble. Our hero volunteers to swim 12 miles across choppy water to get help for his mates. He sets off --- and is never seen again. But this is no myth. It's the life story of Eddie Aikau, the 32-year-old Hawaiian waterman who died in l978 trying to save his shipmates (who, as it happened, were all rescued a few hours after he started swimming for shore). And what a story! Start with a kid as handsome as Jason Scott Lee, as athletic as Duke Kahanamoku and as soulful as Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. He loves the water so much he drops out of school at 16. At 21, when he's not much known as a surfer, he shows up at Waimea Bay and triumphs over 40-foot waves. Suddenly he is in the Pantheon of big-wave surfers. And stays there until his death. It was inevitable there would be a book about Eddie. And that it would be called EDDIE WOULD GO --- the phrase other watermen used to describe Aikau's unrelenting willingness to leap into deadly surf to save swimmers in trouble. What was not inevitable? That EDDIE WOULD GO would be written by someone as gifted as Stuart Coleman. A writer, teacher and surfer, he strikes just the right balance between Eddie's life on land and his heroics on the water. He tells a double story well: courage and integrity on the water, a spiritual quest on land, as Aikau pondered what it meant to be a Hawaiian in a rapidly changing world.
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