Surf and Rescue: George Freeth and the Birth of California Beach Culture

by Patrick Moser

The mixed-race Hawaiian athlete George Freeth brought surfing to Venice, California, in 1907. Over the next twelve years, Freeth taught Southern Californians to surf and swim while creating a modern lifeguard service that transformed the beach into a destination for fun, leisure, and excitement. Patrick Moser places Freeth’s inspiring life story against the rise of the Southern California beach culture he helped shape and define. Freeth made headlines with his rescue of seven fishermen, an act of heroism that highlighted his innovative lifeguarding techniques. But he also founded California's first surf club and coached both male and female athletes, including Olympic swimming champion and “father of modern surfing” Duke Kahanamoku. Often in financial straits, Freeth persevered as a teacher and lifeguarding pioneer--building a legacy that endured long after his death during the 1919 influenza pandemic. A compelling merger of biography and sports history, Surf and Rescue brings to light the forgotten figure whose novel way of seeing the beach sparked the imaginations of people around the world.

240 pages, Paperback

Published June 28, 2022

About the author

Patrick Moser has written numerous articles on surfing that have appeared in Surfer, Surf Life for Women and The Surfer's Journal. His abbreviated history of surfing will appear in the forthcoming book The Pacific Region from Greenwood Press. He has also appeared on National Public Radio's 'To The Point' with Sara Terry in Los Angeles, California to discuss the historical legacy of violence in the surf community.

He currently teaches at Drury University in Springfield, Missouri where he is Chair of the Department of Languages as well as teaching a course on the history and culture of surfing. His latest project encompasses the compiling of an anthology of writings about surfing.

Reviews

[izziekash]

A truly informative read, and one that provides a glimpse into a word I would otherwise never learn of. I learned a lot about surf culture and the impact George Freeth had on the surfing and the water rescue world. Moser does an excellent job of including the complexities and issues that surrounded early surf culture, while also highlighting the joys and significance of surfing to those who did. This is an academic non-fiction read, so it is not going to read like a fictional story would, and I found myself getting bored at certain parts. This is a story that requires focus, and a desire to be educated on Freeth and surf culture. Overall, I enjoyed this and learned a lot!

[Jeff · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is all about surfing and swimming in Hawaii and SoCal, and it still manages to be a bit dull. The main focus of the book seems like he is hiding something, but the author seems to ignore whatever it is that makes that guy tick. It's a lost opportunity. It's a short, quick read, and has enough in there to be moderately entertaining, but just not a stellar book.