Surfing Brilliant Corners : ALISON HODGE - Sam Bleakley

Surfing Brilliant Corners

By: Sam Bleakley

Paperback | 31 May 2010

At a Glance

Paperback


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Surfing Brilliant Corners details a decade of extreme global
surf travel by professional longboarder Sam Bleakley,
illustrated with stunning photographs by John Callahan. It
takes surfing beyond the waves and packaged surf tourism to
a wider sense of place and cultural identity. Sam travels
from his birthplace in West Cornwall to Indonesia and the
Philippines; through vibrant West African highlife in Ghana,
to war-damaged Liberia; to Mauritania, where landmines
litter access to some of the best waves on the planet; to a
serene Buddhist oasis in Communist China; to Ecuador, Oman
and Haiti, whose complex culture seeps into his psyche and
captures his heart. He looks deep into the jet-black eye of
a surfacing shark in Kenya, and faces a stacked set of
foaming lips during typhoon surf in South Korea. Celebrating
Thelonious Monk's 1950s album Brilliant Corners, Sam
explores how, like great jazz musicians, talented surfers
use invention, complex rhythm, timing and spontaneity to
turn impossible waves into beautiful and challenging music.
`Surfing,' he says, `has opened me up, split my skin,
widened my horizons, and closed me down, because any
obsession restricts your involvement in other aspects of
life.'
Industry Reviews
'A book worth reading if you're looking for a one-man jazz-infused tip-toe along the road of life. ... Sam simply shares his past, his present and his frequencies with us, which is worth sharing. He's well travelled, a Cambridge alumni, and speaks with soft tones.' (Drift, 22.06.10.) 'a jazz-inspired song of surfing... 'Bleakley argues persuasively that surfing, and therefore life generally, consists of imparting some new syncopated swerve to an old standard and improvising amid the maelstrom, "between chaos and control".' (Andy Martin, The Independent, 09.07.10.) 'un piacevolissimo mix di surf-report, avventura (quella in cui qualcosa va necessariamente storto) e raffinata letteratura di viaggio, resa palpabile dalle immagini di Callahan.' (SurfNews, June 2010) 'a beautifully written book ... accompanied by some stunning photos ... packs in some incredible trips which are well off the beaten track ... A great read and a wonderful contribution to the increasingly rich library of literature by British surfers' (Tim Kevan, The Barrister Blog, 29.06.10. 'Bleakley is part of a growing group of creative writers determined to push the boundaries ... "and write with a jazz timing that captures the essence of travel and sports ... and enable a wider readership to take surfing and surf travel more seriously." ... 'Surfing Brilliant Corners is unlike anything else in the surf writing genre - and all the better for it.' (Cornwall Today, August 2010) 'a highly entertaining surf-travel book ... Written with the same elegance with which he rides a board' (The Cornishman, 29.07.10) 'Um amor incondicional pelo surf, pelo mundo e pela grande aventura humana. 'As imagens deslumbrantes de John Callahan fornecem o apelo visual ideal para ilustrar as palavras de Bleakly, neste que e um dos grandes livros de surf atualmente disponiveis no mercado.' (Surf Portugal, Agosto 2010) 'There's rhythm and fun... Bleakley has, in the surfing genre and beyond, rare writing skills and sensitive powers of observation. He also has passion and a dexterous imagination.' (The Surfer's Path, September 2010) 'an atypical surf book delving into the deeper meaning of surf travel and its path to self-discovery' (SurfCaribe, October 2010) 'Sam Bleakley has converted 10 years of world traveling into 190 pages of lyrical anecdotes and vivid photographs by J.S. Callahan' (Surfer Magazine, November 2010) 'the pages conjure up a lifestyle far removed from that of your average weekend surfer, and show how, when you are lucky enough to be as talented as the author, the sport can take you places you had never dreamed of visiting. ... 'The photographs by John Callahan are, simply, gorgeous. In full colour, they bring far-flung corners of the world and its people vividly to life. ' (Tavistock Times Gazette, 04.11.10) 'it is Bleakley's lyr ical styl ings that set the tone, col oured by John Callahan's pho to graphy that fleshes out the life style entailed in the search for waves in the planet's furthest-flung corners.' (Action Asia, September/October 2010) 'Ever respect ful and humbled by the places he vis its, the people he meets and the breaks he surfs, this is an inspir ing travel journal - . Stir in bold and expans ive pho to graphy by JS Cal la han and you've got your self a win ner.' (Cooler, Octo ber 2010) 'sizz ling pho to graphy - Bleakley's a thought ful, extremely well traveled chron icler, and Corners is a fine intro duc tion to his world.' (The Surfer's Journal, vol 19, no. 6, 2010) 'voll geladen mit inspir i er enden Geschichten und traum haften Fotos. Sam blickt in seinen Geschichten hinter den typis chen Surf-Tourismus und zeigt faszini er ende Menschen, Kul turen und Aben teuer, bringt einen aber durch seine krit ische Sicht auf die Dinge auch immer wieder selbst zum Nachden ken. Fur jeden Wel ten bummler eine Pflichtlekture!' (Surfers, August/September 2010) 'This book is not the norm - there is poetry and there is earn est ness. The divide between pho to graphy and journ al ism, just got smal ler - it was a serendip it ous dis cov ery indeed.' (Spinal Surfer blog, 24.11.10. You can read the whole review here.) 'an out stand ing book - loads of long board ing pho tos in amaz ing surf spots - a great read.' (Aus tralian Long board ing, no. 72, November/December 2010) 'A col our ful glossy col lec tion of a decade's worth of the global surf adven tures (to some of the world's most off beat des tin a tions) under taken by the surfer/shooter team of Sam Bleakley and John S. Cal la han.' (Slide, no. 17, Janu ary 2011) 'O livro Surf ing Bril liant Corners, escrito pelo long boarder profis sional Sam Bleakley e ilus trado com fotos de John Cal la han, relata via gens aos can tos mais remo tos do plan eta em busca de ondas per feitas.' (Hard core, Mar 2011) 'One ... travel writer worth seeking out for some rather leftfield angles would be the surf writer Sam Bleakley. He's done two books of sort of surf-jazz-travel essays, which are excellent, and he has a very interesting stylistic approach ... They come with pretty fine photos too... ' (Tim Hannigan, Response to Alison Flood, Guardian, 10.08.12)

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