David Rensin

Before picking up this book, I didn’t know a whole lot about Miki Dora aside from the occasional reference I picked up in past issues of Surfer magazine. I knew that he had been the king of Malibu, a legendary surfer who exhibited all that was cool with surfing in the 60s. Man, was I off-base. In his book, Rensin had me changing my point of view on Dora with nearly every chapter. At one point, you just think this guy is the biggest ass you can imagine, and you wonder why anyone cares. And show more just when you’re ready to give up on him, Rensin reels you back in, and now you think Dora walks on water. By the end of the book, your perspective on Miki Dora is not unlike the real person—very complicated. While Rensin’s narrative in the first chapter of the book is a bit gushing and borderline overreaching, the rest of the book walks you through Miki’s exploits via printed recollections from scores of his acquaintances (friends would not be the right word). Rensin’s interviews provide rich fodder for stories and anecdotes on Dora that keep you turning pages. Highlights include Greg Noll’s stories about the horrors of doing business with Miki on the Da Cat line of boards.....twice. In the end, Rensin does an excellent job of demystifying Dora while at the same time managing to maintain the man’s myth. No small feat. This is a good read. (September 2008) http://thewatermanslibrary.com/Site/Dora.html show less

Writing: 4.0; Theme: 5.0; Content: 4.5; Language: 4.5; Overall: 4.0

This is the story of an inspirational man, Louis Zamperini, which was finished two days before his death. He was a World War II prisoner-of-war survivor and 1936 Olympic hero. His life was an inspiration to millions and shared in several biographical tomes, one being the popular title Unbroken, which was also made into a Hollywood production. Recommend.

***August 25, 2025***

Takes a little bit to get into... sort of starts with his legacy, before getting into his story more. Fascinating guy. There's a little bit of MP in this (not quite as good a book).

This book is full of "proverbs", each accompanied with a short story from Louis Zamperini's life. I got to know him just a little more, a little better than I had previously, from reading "Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption". A sweet, fun, and interesting little book.