Praise for Ghost Wave

From: "Booklist" Sept, 2011.
Ghost Wave: The Discovery of Cortes Bank and the Biggest Wave on Earth.
Journalist and surfer (Chris) Dixon's engaging book explores the history, culture, and even the mythology of a popular surfing destination. Cortes Bank is an underwater mountain range whose highest point, known as Bishop Rock, reaches almost to the ocean's surface. Under the right conditions, this natural phenomenon creates some of the biggest waves in the world, and Cortes Bank draws all manner of surfers hoping to ride in front of a 30-foot tower of water. The bank was named after the steamship Cortes, whose commander, in 1853, witnessed "massive eruptions of white water in the middle of the deep blue sea," and Bishop Rock for the clipper ship Bishop, whose 1855 collision with the undersea mountain peak is the stuff of legend. It's hard to say which is more interesting here, the stories of the surfers, explorers, divers, and sailors drawn to Cortes Bank or the history of the bank itself. Either way, terrific reading.
–DAVID PITT

"Ghost Wave takes us to a place of almost mythic power and tells a story that unfolds like a long ride on a killer wave. I can't imagine doing what those surfers are doing out there on Cortes Bank–and I can't imagine a finer book about them. This is a beautifully researched and compellingly written book. I read it straight through from the first page. Terrifying."
–SEBASTIAN JUNGER, author of The Perfect Storm

"A terrific, deeply researched tale about a truly wild place. You couldn't make up Cortes Bank or the characters who've tried to make it theirs. Chris Dixon takes us out there. He gets us amongst it."
–WILLIAM FINNEGAN, author of Cold New World

"Mystery shrouded, invisible from shore, riddled with hazards real and imagined, the Cortes Bank is a sort of Rubicon. Only a handful of surfers have crossed to the other side. In Ghost Wave, Chris Dixon traces the Bank's maritime history, the fanciful civilization of Abalonia, and the absolute madmen who chase shifting peaks in the open ocean."
–SCOTT HULET, editor, The Surfer's Journal

"Ghost Wave is a first-rate account of an amazing phenomenon and the people who tried to conquer and exploit it. A great read."
–WINSTON GROOM, author of Forrest Gump

"After reading Chris's most excellent account of the monstrous waves of the mysterious Cortes Bank– the Bermuda Triangle of the Pacific–I never thought I would ever consider riding a wave like this. But after surviving a five-foot, headfirst fall from the stage earlier this year, I think I might be ready."
–JIMMY BUFFETT

Overflowing with stoke, adrenaline, and fear, Ghost Wave is total thrill-ride of a book.
–MATT WARSHAW, author of History of Surfing

Ghost Wave is so much more than a surf story. Yes, it chronicles the obsessive big-wave riders who chased rumors of 100-foot giants a hundred lonely miles out to sea. But Ghost Wave is also a classic tale of exploration and myth, a chronicle of obsessive drive and constant danger in pursuit of personal achievement that places it solidly the annals of outdoor adventure.
–STEVE CASIMIRO, Editor, Adventure Journal

I knew that Cortes Bank had a rich history or maritime disasters and hellmen triumphs. But I had no idea how rich until now. Chris Dixon has done the surf world–and the world of adventure writing–a true service with this book. He's also proven himself to be one hell of a reporter, researcher and storyteller.
–STEVE HAWK, Editor in Chief, Sierra Magazine, former editor, Surfer magazine.

Like another passionate East Coast writer of the sea, Chris Dixon takes a rather insignificant circumstance (in this case a wave breaking on a distant seamount) and turns it into high drama. And if it's not exactly Moby Dick, to the surfer it comes pretty damn close.
–SAM GEORGE, Producer, Riding Giants, former editor, Surfing magazine.

Praise for Ghost Wave

"Ghost Wave takes us to a place of almost mythic power and tells a story that unfolds like a long ride on a killer wave. I can't imagine doing what those surfers are doing out there on Cortes Bank--and I can't imagine a finer book about them. This is a beautifully researched and compellingly written book. I read it straight through from the first page. Terrifying."
-Sebastian Junger, author of The Perfect Storm

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