Surfing. 1778–Today

This platinum tome is the most comprehensive visual history of surfing to date, marking a major cultural event as much as a publication. Following three and a half years of meticulous research, it brings together more than 900 images to chart the evolution of surfing as a sport, a lifestyle, and a philosophy.


The book is arranged into five chronological chapters, tracing surfing culture from the first recorded European contact in 1778 by Captain James Cook to the global and multi-platform phenomenon of today. Utilizing institutions, collections, and photographic archives from around the world, and with accompanying essays by the world's top surf journalists, it celebrates the sport on and off the water, as a community of 20 million practitioners and countless more devotees, and as a leading influence on fashion, film, art, and music.


An unrivaled tribute to the breadth, complexity, and richness of surfing, this book is a must-have for any serious player on the surfing scene and anybody who aspires to the surfing lifestyle. As one surfing scribe has declared, "There has never been a book like this, and there will never be another one again."

“"Visual historian Jim Heimann brings his keen eye to the waves, culture, sport, and style of surfing in this gorgeous coffee table book."”

In this crowded world, the surfer can still seek and find the perfect day, the perfect wave, and be alone with the surf and his thoughts. John Severson
The undisputed bible of surf culture. Vogue
This is the bible to put in the hands of every surfing aficionado. A rich and ultra-documented panorama about the sport... Surfing is more than just a coffee table book, it is above all a rare and precious volume to be passed on from generation to generation. Cote Magazine
Visual historian Jim Heimann brings his keen eye to the waves, culture, sport, and style of surfing in this gorgeous book. The Los Angeles Times
Surfing will undoubtedly go down as the last word in the space. The Surfer’s Journal
This book is perfect. The Washington Post
Pretty much the sport's most epic coffee table book yet. Wired.com
Surfing is a magnificent book. Surfline.com
It's all here - the clothes, the boards, the music, the contests, the rivalries, the surfer dudes... Tatler

Jim Heimann is the Executive Editor for TASCHEN. A cultural anthropologist, historian, and an avid collector, he has authored numerous titles on architecture, pop culture, and the history of Los Angeles and Hollywood, including TASCHEN’s Surfing, Los Angeles. Portrait of a City, California Crazy, and the All-American Ads series.

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