Hound of the Sea

In this thrilling and candid memoir, world record-holding and controversial Big Wave surfer Garrett McNamara—star and subject of the HBO mini-series, 100 Foot Wave—chronicles his emotional quest to ride the most formidable waves on earth.

Garrett McNamara set the world record for the sport, surfing a seventy-eight-foot wave in Nazaré, Portugal in 2011, a record he smashed two years later at the same break. Propelled by the challenge and promise of bigger, more difficult waves, this adrenaline-fueled loner and polarizing figure travels the globe to ride the most dangerous swells the oceans have to offer, from calving glaciers in extreme surfing adventures to hurricane swells.

But what motivates McNamara to go to such extremes—to risk everything for one thrilling ride? Is riding giant waves the ultimate exercise in control or surrender?

Personal and emotional, readers will know GMac as never before, seeing for the first time the personal alongside the professional in an exciting, intimate look at what drives this inventive, iconoclastic man. Surfing awesome giants isn’t just thrill seeking, he explains—it’s about vanquishing fears and defeating obstacles past and present, a theme that makes this one of the most inspirational books of its kind. Surfers and non-surfers alike will embrace McNamara’s story—as they have William Finnegan’s Barbarian Days—an its intimate look at the enigmatic pursuit of riding waves, big and small.

Hound of the Sea is an unforgettable inspirational memoir and a record of perseverance, passion, and healing. Thoughtful, suspenseful, and spiritually profound, McNamara reveals the beautiful soul of surfing through the eyes of one of its most daring and devoted disciples.

What does it take to face down a 100-foot wall of water and see it not as a threat, but as a calling?
Big-Wave Surfing: Go inside the harrowing, adrenaline-fueled quest to ride record-breaking waves in Nazaré, Portugal, and surf near calving glaciers.An Inspirational True Story: Discover how an unconventional, chaotic childhood shaped a man who would spend his life turning fear into fuel and vanquishing personal demons.Now an HBO Docuseries: The candid, behind-the-scenes story that inspired the Emmy Award-winning HBO Original series 100 Foot Wave.A Must-Read for Adventure Fans: For surfers and non-surfers alike, this candid memoir is a profound exploration of perseverance, passion, and the spiritual soul of surfing.