Covering 40 years of surf culture, Australian writer Phil Jarratt rides a wave of nostalgia seamlessly from the 1960s to recent times, from one side of the Pacific to the other, from the cold Southern Ocean to the warm Java Sea, from Bali to Biarritz and many points in between.
Jarratt pulls no punches and spares no reputations as he interprets surfing's journey from slightly spooky sidebar cult to billion dollar industry. Written with great affection, these are the reflections of a lifelong surfer whose pursuit of waves has governed his life, been his succour in times of need and has placed him in the middle of many of the most exciting episodes in surfing's history.
This is a book that will be devoured by all surfers, and appreciated by those who aspire to the lifestyle.In A Life of Brine, Phil spans the innocence of his early days learning to surf in the 1960s on the beautiful Australian coast through the decades of encounters with surfing's greats including Kelly Slater (US), Shane Dorian (Hi), Gerry Lopez (Hi), Rory Russell (Hi), Miki Dora (US), Rell Sunn (Hi), Reno Abellira (Hi), Corky Carroll (US), Jeff Hakman (Hi), and Shaun Tomson (SA) at the world's hottest surfing spots.
Through wild times in the 70s, 80s and 90s, Phil relates the heady days of drugs and copious alcohol, including a night spent with Hunter S Thompson in San Francisco that did nothing to halt his obsession with excess. Celebrities such as Bill Murray, Jack Johnson, Dan Hicks, Pamela Anderson and Grace Slick all feature in this colourful, excessive life that's always had surfing at its core.
