Fierce Heart: The Story of Makaha and the Soul of Hawaiian Surfing

Fierce Heart: The Story of Makaha and the Soul of Hawaiian Surfing by Coleman, Stuart Holmes. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780312384517.

Fierce Heart is the biography of a community and a portrait of its people. Although Makaha is a small, isolated town on the Western coast of Oahu, it has produced some of the most intriguing Hawaiians of the twentieth century: world-class surfers Buffalo Keaulana and his sons Rusty and Brian; beautiful skin diver and surfing pro Rell Sunn; and larger than life singer and songwriter Israel Kamakawiwo’ole. What connects them is a love for their culture, their people, and various kinds of water sports. Fierce Heart combines stories of exciting big wave surfing competitions, dramatic water rescues, deep friendships, and touching family portraits with a look at the history and origins of one of the world’s most thrilling extreme sports.