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UPCOMING EVENTS
Author and Journalist
DOUGLAS CAVANAUGH
will discuss his new book
REMEMBERING
BUTCH:
The Butch Van Artsdalen Story
Sunday, June 13, at 2 PM
Surfer,
lover, fighter, lifesaver… Butch Van
Artsdalen was all of these things and so much more during his all too short
but exciting life here among us. Everyone who was around the surfing scene from
the 1950s to the 1970s has a “Butch story,” many of which have been compiled in
this oral history of his life and times. From his early days as a part of the
wild Windansea Beach crowd, to being the first “Mr. Pipeline,” to becoming,
along with Eddie Aikau, the first lifeguard on the North Shore of Oahu, Butch
rarely knew a dull moment and packed a lot of living into his thirty-eight
years. He had many ups and downs in his life, starting with becoming one of
surfing’s brightest stars in the early 60s with his cutting-edge performances
at the dreaded “Banzai Pipeline” in Hawaii, to losing his status as one of the
“in” crowd with the hippie shortboard revolution later in the decade. He would
realize a more important role when he saved countless lives as a lifeguard in
the 70s, but sadly his severe depression, exacerbated by alcoholism, kept him
from fully understanding and embracing everything that he meant to so many
people. Regardless, there is nary a dull moment in his life, which is fully and
richly documented here by his friends and family.
Douglas Cavanaugh
has been a freelance writer for many years. His articles and essays on boxing,
surfing and organized crime history have appeared in various books, magazines
and online sites in several languages.
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Noted oceanographer
Kim McCoy
will discuss his updated edition of
Willard Bascom’s iconic book
WAVES
and BEACHES:
The Powerful Dynamics of Sea and
Coast,
Saturday , July 17, 7PM
First published in 1964
and updated in 1979,
this classic was an essential handbook for anyone who studies, surfs, protects,
or is fascinated by the ocean, a delightful combination of science and
adventure. The original author, Willard Bascom, was a master of the
subject and included a wealth of information, based on theory and statistics,
but also anecdotal observation and personal experience.
It brought to the general
public an understanding
of the awesome and complex power of the waves. Fresh with new insights, this
update from Kim McCoy adds recent facts and anecdotes to update the book’s
relevance in the time of climate change. It spotlights the ongoing transformations to our coastal cities, sea-going vessels,
energy supplies and
global commerce. The dynamics of our waves and beaches are more relevant today
as populations adapt to changing climates. One of the most significant effects
of global warming will be sea-level rise. What will this mean to waves and
beaches, and what effects are we already seeing?
New text and photos cover
events such as the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, Hurricane Katrina flooding of
2005, and the 2011 earthquake and resulting devastation in Fukishima. As well
as students, surfers, and the general public, this updated edition of a beloved
classic is an essential handbook for ocean activists, providing clear
explanations and detailed resources for the constant battle to preserve the
shore.
Willard Bascom, the original author of Waves and Beaches, was an engineer,
adventurer and scientist, as well as a writer, photographer, painter, miner,
cinematographer, and archeologist, who first proposed using Neoprene for
wetsuits. He authored several books, which include the topics of waves,
geology, archaeology, poetry, and oceanography.
Kim McCoy’s ocean
research began where the land and sea merge - with surf zone wave dynamics and
continues today with the coastal effects of climate change. xpeditions from
the tropics to polar oceans with multinational academic, commercial and governmental
institutions helped Kim pioneer advances in instrumentation.
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Scripps Institution of
Oceanography writer
ROBERT MONROE
will discuss his new book
SCRIPPS INSTITUTION
OF OCEANOGRAPHY
Saturday, August 14, 7PM
At
the beginning of the 20th
century, the term “oceanography” was merely a few decades old, and few
investigations of the oceans, which cover nearly three-fourths of the planet’s
surface, had taken place. This is the story of an institution that catapulted
the field into the forefront of science—first as a pioneer of marine biology,
then as a source of wartime environmental intelligence, and most recently as a
messenger warning of humanity’s effect on nature and a source of solutions to
the problem. Robert
Monroe,
a writer and editor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego for
more than 20 years, is among several authors from Scripps Oceanography and
beyond who have been fascinated by how the institution’s development has guided
the history of its home city of San Diego. Scripps has graduated from rented
space in a boathouse to being the oldest oceanographic institution in the
United States and a global leader in ocean and earth science at a time of great
upheaval in the natural world.
Previous Events at D.G.Wills Books
Christopher Hitchens
Oscar-Winning Actor Sean Penn
Oscar-Winning Director Oliver Stone
Historian and Churchill biographer Sir Martin Gilbert
Francoise Gilot
Vogue magazine photo of Francoise Gilot
at the original store
Michael McClure
Yevgeny Yevtushenko
Nobel Laureate Gerald Edelman, Director of the Neurosciences
Institute, with U.C. Berkeley philosopher John Searle with Mrs. Searle
Nobel Laureate Manfred Eigen
Quincy Troupe
Iris Chang
Gerry Spence
Noted editor Robert Weil, editing a Patricia
Highsmith manuscript for W.W. Norton & Co.
N. Parthasarathi,
Indian Consul General, San Francisco; and Nirupama Rao, Ambassador of India to the U.S.
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