Drawing on popular surf culture, academic literature and the analytical tools of social theory, this is the first sustained commentary on the contemporary social and cultural meaning of surfing, exploring mind and body, emotions, and aesthetics. "Surfing and Social Theory far exceeds Nick Ford and David Brown's modest goal of contributing to the burgeoning area of surfing studies. This text will define the subject for a very long time. Sport sociologists should also look at the book as a potential template for analyzing individual sports as complex multidimensional and embodied phenomena, and even as an embryonic model for a fresh theoretical synthesis of the field. In this regard Surfing and Social Theory is replete with intriguing suggestions and ideas." - Douglas Booth, Sociology of Sport Journal.