Author: Fons Trompenaars
Publisher: Nicholas Brealey International
ISBN: 1904838405
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 311
Book Description
THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO CROSS-CULTURAL MANAGEMENT The definitive guide to cross-cultural management--updated to help you lead effectively during a time of unprecedented globalization. First published nearly 20 years ago, Riding the Waves of Culture has now become the standard guide to conducting business in an international context. Now, the third edition provides you with important new information and groundbreaking methods for leading effectively in the most globalized business landscape ever.
Riding the Waves of Culture
Author: Fons Trompenaars
Publisher: Nicholas Brealey International
ISBN: 1904838405
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 311
Book Description
THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO CROSS-CULTURAL MANAGEMENT The definitive guide to cross-cultural management--updated to help you lead effectively during a time of unprecedented globalization. First published nearly 20 years ago, Riding the Waves of Culture has now become the standard guide to conducting business in an international context. Now, the third edition provides you with important new information and groundbreaking methods for leading effectively in the most globalized business landscape ever.
Publisher: Nicholas Brealey International
ISBN: 1904838405
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 311
Book Description
THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO CROSS-CULTURAL MANAGEMENT The definitive guide to cross-cultural management--updated to help you lead effectively during a time of unprecedented globalization. First published nearly 20 years ago, Riding the Waves of Culture has now become the standard guide to conducting business in an international context. Now, the third edition provides you with important new information and groundbreaking methods for leading effectively in the most globalized business landscape ever.
Riding the Waves of Culture, Fourth Edition: Understanding Diversity in Global Business
Author: Fons Trompenaars
Publisher: McGraw Hill Professional
ISBN: 1260468658
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 433
Book Description
The bestselling guide to leading effectively in an increasingly global business environment—updated to address radical changes in politics, society, economics, and technology Today’s geopolitical landscape has evolved dramatically, with major impacts on relationships among countries that do business together. As a business leader, your concerns are no longer simply about being aware of cultural differences and preventing embarrassments. Now, you must tread more lightly than ever, be even more attuned to cultural differences, and leverage cultural differences for maximum competitive advantage. Retaining its in-depth exploration of underlying cultural frameworks that have made it a business classic, Riding the Waves of Culture, Fourth Edition provides new, evidence-based information and insights on critical business matters, including: • How to enhance and improve chances of success in M&A deals by expertly handling corporate and cultural differences • Ways of improving and handling competencies, dilemmas, servant leadership, innovation, and remote-team effectiveness in an increasingly diverse business world • New analyses of changes over the past 25 years that are moving the world closer to a single “global village” Renowned experts in their field, the authors also include new chapters and updates on the meaning of culture, assessing cultural competence, change management, assessing organization culture, and diversity and ethnicity. The most thoroughly researched and highly respected resource of its kind, Riding the Waves of Culture does more than help you stay afloat in today’s diverse work environment; it provides the knowledge you need to seize the advantage and compete for the long run.
Publisher: McGraw Hill Professional
ISBN: 1260468658
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 433
Book Description
The bestselling guide to leading effectively in an increasingly global business environment—updated to address radical changes in politics, society, economics, and technology Today’s geopolitical landscape has evolved dramatically, with major impacts on relationships among countries that do business together. As a business leader, your concerns are no longer simply about being aware of cultural differences and preventing embarrassments. Now, you must tread more lightly than ever, be even more attuned to cultural differences, and leverage cultural differences for maximum competitive advantage. Retaining its in-depth exploration of underlying cultural frameworks that have made it a business classic, Riding the Waves of Culture, Fourth Edition provides new, evidence-based information and insights on critical business matters, including: • How to enhance and improve chances of success in M&A deals by expertly handling corporate and cultural differences • Ways of improving and handling competencies, dilemmas, servant leadership, innovation, and remote-team effectiveness in an increasingly diverse business world • New analyses of changes over the past 25 years that are moving the world closer to a single “global village” Renowned experts in their field, the authors also include new chapters and updates on the meaning of culture, assessing cultural competence, change management, assessing organization culture, and diversity and ethnicity. The most thoroughly researched and highly respected resource of its kind, Riding the Waves of Culture does more than help you stay afloat in today’s diverse work environment; it provides the knowledge you need to seize the advantage and compete for the long run.
Riding the Wave
Author: Jeremy S. Adams
Publisher: Solution Tree Press
ISBN: 1949539601
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 220
Book Description
Deftly navigate the constant cycles of change and reform with the support of this actionable resource. Author Jeremy S. Adams identifies five key teacher relationships--the self, students, colleagues, administrators, and the community--and outlines how change impacts each. Discover concrete strategies for not only strengthening these relationships but also rediscovering professional purpose and truly thriving in the classroom. Use this resource's practical strategies to navigate changes in the teaching profession: Recognize the waves of change that are characteristic of 21st century education. Explore the dynamics of the five key relationships in which classroom teachers are involved. Identify the ways in which teacher morale affects teacher efficacy and collaboration, as well as overall school morale. Reflect on and respond to the problem or strategy presented at the end of every section. Learn specific research-based strategies for improving the five key relationships. Contents: Acknowledgments Table of Contents About the Author Introduction Part 1: The Self Chapter 1: Recognizing the Need for Self-Care Chapter 2: Practicing Self-Care Part 2: Students Chapter 3: Understanding Stress Among the Desks Chapter 4: Promoting Learning and Mitigating Student Anxiety Part 3: Colleagues Chapter 5: Unraveling the Conflict Among Teachers Chapter 6: Committing to Teacher Collaboration Part 4: Administration Chapter 7: Identifying Divergent Teacher and Principal Perspectives Chapter 8: Maintaining Staff Cohesion Through Communication Part 5: The Community Chapter 9: Viewing Education From a Distance Chapter 10: Connecting Citizens and Schools Epilogue References and Resources Index
Publisher: Solution Tree Press
ISBN: 1949539601
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 220
Book Description
Deftly navigate the constant cycles of change and reform with the support of this actionable resource. Author Jeremy S. Adams identifies five key teacher relationships--the self, students, colleagues, administrators, and the community--and outlines how change impacts each. Discover concrete strategies for not only strengthening these relationships but also rediscovering professional purpose and truly thriving in the classroom. Use this resource's practical strategies to navigate changes in the teaching profession: Recognize the waves of change that are characteristic of 21st century education. Explore the dynamics of the five key relationships in which classroom teachers are involved. Identify the ways in which teacher morale affects teacher efficacy and collaboration, as well as overall school morale. Reflect on and respond to the problem or strategy presented at the end of every section. Learn specific research-based strategies for improving the five key relationships. Contents: Acknowledgments Table of Contents About the Author Introduction Part 1: The Self Chapter 1: Recognizing the Need for Self-Care Chapter 2: Practicing Self-Care Part 2: Students Chapter 3: Understanding Stress Among the Desks Chapter 4: Promoting Learning and Mitigating Student Anxiety Part 3: Colleagues Chapter 5: Unraveling the Conflict Among Teachers Chapter 6: Committing to Teacher Collaboration Part 4: Administration Chapter 7: Identifying Divergent Teacher and Principal Perspectives Chapter 8: Maintaining Staff Cohesion Through Communication Part 5: The Community Chapter 9: Viewing Education From a Distance Chapter 10: Connecting Citizens and Schools Epilogue References and Resources Index
Riding the Waves
Author: Leo Beranek
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262250659
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 332
Book Description
The life and work of Renaissance man Leo Beranek: scientist, professor, engineer, busisess leader, inventor, entrepreneur, musician, television executive, philanthropist, and author. Leo Beranek, an Iowa farm boy who became a Renaissance man—scientist, inventor, entrepreneur, musician, television executive, philanthropist, and author—has lived life in constant motion. His seventy-year career, through the most tumultuous and transformative years of the last century, has always been propelled by the sheer exhilaration of trying something new. In Riding The Waves, Leo Beranek tells his story. Beranek's life changed direction on a summer day in 1935 when he stopped to help a motorist with a flat tire. The driver just happened to be a former Harvard professor of engineering, who guided the young Beranek toward a full scholarship at Harvard's graduate school of engineering. Beranek went on to be one of the world's leading experts on acoustics. He became Director of Harvard's Electro-Acoustic Laboratory, where he invented the Hush-A-Phone—a telephone accessory that began the chain of regulatory challenges and lawsuits that led ultimately to the breakup of the Bell Telephone monopoly in the 1980s. Beranek moved to MIT to be a professor and Technical Director of its Acoustics Laboratory, then left academia to found the acoustical consulting firm Bolt, Beranek and Newman. Known for his work in noise control and concert acoustics, Beranek devised the world's largest muffler to quiet jet noise and served as acoustical consultant for concert halls around the world (including the Tanglewood Music Shed, the storied summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra). As president of BBN, he assembled the software group that invented both the ARPANET, the forerunner of the Internet, and e-mail. In the 1970s, Beranek risked his life savings to secure the license to operate a television station; he turned Channel 5 in Boston into one of the country's best, then sold it to Metromedia in 1982 for the highest price ever paid up to that time for a broadcast station. “One central lesson I've learned is the value of risk-taking and of moving on when risks turn into busts or odds look better elsewhere,” Beranek writes. Riding The Waves is a testament to the boldness, diligence, and intelligence behind Beranek's lifetime of extraordinary achievement. Leo Beranek is a pioneer in acoustical research, known for his work in noise control and the acoustics of concert halls, and the author of twelve books on these topics. The many awards he has received include the Presidential National Medal of Science, presented in 2003.
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262250659
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 332
Book Description
The life and work of Renaissance man Leo Beranek: scientist, professor, engineer, busisess leader, inventor, entrepreneur, musician, television executive, philanthropist, and author. Leo Beranek, an Iowa farm boy who became a Renaissance man—scientist, inventor, entrepreneur, musician, television executive, philanthropist, and author—has lived life in constant motion. His seventy-year career, through the most tumultuous and transformative years of the last century, has always been propelled by the sheer exhilaration of trying something new. In Riding The Waves, Leo Beranek tells his story. Beranek's life changed direction on a summer day in 1935 when he stopped to help a motorist with a flat tire. The driver just happened to be a former Harvard professor of engineering, who guided the young Beranek toward a full scholarship at Harvard's graduate school of engineering. Beranek went on to be one of the world's leading experts on acoustics. He became Director of Harvard's Electro-Acoustic Laboratory, where he invented the Hush-A-Phone—a telephone accessory that began the chain of regulatory challenges and lawsuits that led ultimately to the breakup of the Bell Telephone monopoly in the 1980s. Beranek moved to MIT to be a professor and Technical Director of its Acoustics Laboratory, then left academia to found the acoustical consulting firm Bolt, Beranek and Newman. Known for his work in noise control and concert acoustics, Beranek devised the world's largest muffler to quiet jet noise and served as acoustical consultant for concert halls around the world (including the Tanglewood Music Shed, the storied summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra). As president of BBN, he assembled the software group that invented both the ARPANET, the forerunner of the Internet, and e-mail. In the 1970s, Beranek risked his life savings to secure the license to operate a television station; he turned Channel 5 in Boston into one of the country's best, then sold it to Metromedia in 1982 for the highest price ever paid up to that time for a broadcast station. “One central lesson I've learned is the value of risk-taking and of moving on when risks turn into busts or odds look better elsewhere,” Beranek writes. Riding The Waves is a testament to the boldness, diligence, and intelligence behind Beranek's lifetime of extraordinary achievement. Leo Beranek is a pioneer in acoustical research, known for his work in noise control and the acoustics of concert halls, and the author of twelve books on these topics. The many awards he has received include the Presidential National Medal of Science, presented in 2003.
Women on Waves
Author: Jim Kempton
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1643137255
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 486
Book Description
A captivating look at two centuries of surfing—"the Sport of Queens"—from Native Hawaiian royalty to the breakout style and jaw-dropping feats on the waves today. Few subjects in the world of sports and or the outdoors is more timely or compelling than women’s surfing. From smart, strong, fearless women shattering records on 80-foot waves to professional athletes fighting for equal pay and a more fair and just playing field, these amazing, wave-riding warriors provide an inspirational and aspirational cast of powerful role models for women (and men) across all backgrounds and generations. Over the past two-hundred years, and especially the past five decades, the surfing lifestyle have become the envy of people around the world. The perception of sun, sand, surf, strong young women and their inimitable style, has created a booming lifestyle and sports industry—and the sport that is set to make it’s Olympic exhibition debut in Tokyo 2021. A massive shift from when colonizers tried to extinguish all traces of Native Hawaiian surfing and its sacred culture. What is it about the surfing that intrigues people of all ages, from all corners of the world? The beaches and idyllic locations? The unique style and mystique that surfers project? These women, on the beach and riding giant waves, or in the media, have made their mark on not just their sport, but our wider culture. Women on Waves is filled with phenomenal athletic performance, breakthrough female achievements, and plenty of inspiration and fun to see us through until the time when we can all hit the surf once more! Spanning a millennia, From Hawaii to Malibu, New York to Australia, South Africa to the South Pacific and beyond, Jim Kempton presents a fascinating new narrative that will captivate anyone who loves sports and the outdoors.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1643137255
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 486
Book Description
A captivating look at two centuries of surfing—"the Sport of Queens"—from Native Hawaiian royalty to the breakout style and jaw-dropping feats on the waves today. Few subjects in the world of sports and or the outdoors is more timely or compelling than women’s surfing. From smart, strong, fearless women shattering records on 80-foot waves to professional athletes fighting for equal pay and a more fair and just playing field, these amazing, wave-riding warriors provide an inspirational and aspirational cast of powerful role models for women (and men) across all backgrounds and generations. Over the past two-hundred years, and especially the past five decades, the surfing lifestyle have become the envy of people around the world. The perception of sun, sand, surf, strong young women and their inimitable style, has created a booming lifestyle and sports industry—and the sport that is set to make it’s Olympic exhibition debut in Tokyo 2021. A massive shift from when colonizers tried to extinguish all traces of Native Hawaiian surfing and its sacred culture. What is it about the surfing that intrigues people of all ages, from all corners of the world? The beaches and idyllic locations? The unique style and mystique that surfers project? These women, on the beach and riding giant waves, or in the media, have made their mark on not just their sport, but our wider culture. Women on Waves is filled with phenomenal athletic performance, breakthrough female achievements, and plenty of inspiration and fun to see us through until the time when we can all hit the surf once more! Spanning a millennia, From Hawaii to Malibu, New York to Australia, South Africa to the South Pacific and beyond, Jim Kempton presents a fascinating new narrative that will captivate anyone who loves sports and the outdoors.
Business Across Cultures
Author: Fons Trompenaars
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1841125911
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 368
Book Description
Business Across Cultures is the keystone book in the Culture for Business series. It provides an overview of all subjects tackled in the other books of the series. Its particular aim is to provide executives with a cross-cultural perspective on how companies meet the diverse needs of customers, investors and employees; to introduce the main ideas in business in a multicultural context; and to show how they all fit together.
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1841125911
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 368
Book Description
Business Across Cultures is the keystone book in the Culture for Business series. It provides an overview of all subjects tackled in the other books of the series. Its particular aim is to provide executives with a cross-cultural perspective on how companies meet the diverse needs of customers, investors and employees; to introduce the main ideas in business in a multicultural context; and to show how they all fit together.
Surf Odyssey
Author: Andrew Groves
Publisher: Die Gestalten Verlag-DGV
ISBN: 9783899556537
Category : Surfers
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
"Cold-water surfing, the most remote surf spots, spectacular photography, illustrations, and custom boards: Surf Odyssey documents the modern cult of surfing as its own subculture and way of life. There's much more to surfing than palm trees and beach boy cliches. People surf not only in Hawaii, but also in Norway, South Korea, and India. Surf Odyssey is a book about the world of surfing today and those that live in it. This community is made up of the surfers themselves as well as surf photographers and board builders who are also spreading its distinctive spirit into other creative fields. Comparable to the new outdoor movement, today's surfing is about an attitude toward life, a lust for adventure, and a love of nature that one can only find far away from established spots. Surf Odyssey presents this scene's places, people, stories, and brands. Its stunning photography is sure to inspire many further surfing exploits."
Publisher: Die Gestalten Verlag-DGV
ISBN: 9783899556537
Category : Surfers
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
"Cold-water surfing, the most remote surf spots, spectacular photography, illustrations, and custom boards: Surf Odyssey documents the modern cult of surfing as its own subculture and way of life. There's much more to surfing than palm trees and beach boy cliches. People surf not only in Hawaii, but also in Norway, South Korea, and India. Surf Odyssey is a book about the world of surfing today and those that live in it. This community is made up of the surfers themselves as well as surf photographers and board builders who are also spreading its distinctive spirit into other creative fields. Comparable to the new outdoor movement, today's surfing is about an attitude toward life, a lust for adventure, and a love of nature that one can only find far away from established spots. Surf Odyssey presents this scene's places, people, stories, and brands. Its stunning photography is sure to inspire many further surfing exploits."
AFROSURF
Author: Mami Wata
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
ISBN: 1984860410
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 321
Book Description
Discover the untold story of African surf culture in this glorious and colorful collection of profiles, essays, photographs, and illustrations. AFROSURF is the first book to capture and celebrate the surfing culture of Africa. This unprecedented collection is compiled by Mami Wata, a Cape Town surf company that fiercely believes in the power of African surf. Mami Wata brings together its co-founder Selema Masekela and some of Africa's finest photographers, thinkers, writers, and surfers to explore the unique culture of eighteen coastal countries, from Morocco to Somalia, Mozambique, South Africa, and beyond. Packed with over fifty essays, AFROSURF features surfer and skater profiles, thought pieces, poems, photos, illustrations, ephemera, recipes, and a mini comic, all wrapped in an astounding design that captures the diversity and character of Africa. A creative force of good in their continent, Mami Wata sources and manufactures all their wares in Africa and works with communities to strengthen local economies through surf tourism. With this mission in mind, Mami Wata is donating 100% of their proceeds to support two African surf therapy organizations, Waves for Change and Surfers Not Street Children.
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
ISBN: 1984860410
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 321
Book Description
Discover the untold story of African surf culture in this glorious and colorful collection of profiles, essays, photographs, and illustrations. AFROSURF is the first book to capture and celebrate the surfing culture of Africa. This unprecedented collection is compiled by Mami Wata, a Cape Town surf company that fiercely believes in the power of African surf. Mami Wata brings together its co-founder Selema Masekela and some of Africa's finest photographers, thinkers, writers, and surfers to explore the unique culture of eighteen coastal countries, from Morocco to Somalia, Mozambique, South Africa, and beyond. Packed with over fifty essays, AFROSURF features surfer and skater profiles, thought pieces, poems, photos, illustrations, ephemera, recipes, and a mini comic, all wrapped in an astounding design that captures the diversity and character of Africa. A creative force of good in their continent, Mami Wata sources and manufactures all their wares in Africa and works with communities to strengthen local economies through surf tourism. With this mission in mind, Mami Wata is donating 100% of their proceeds to support two African surf therapy organizations, Waves for Change and Surfers Not Street Children.
Building Cross-Cultural Competence
Author: Charles M. Hampden-Turner
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300130635
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 400
Book Description
divdivCross-cultural competence is a skill that has become increasingly essential for the managers in multinational companies. For other business people, this kind of competence may spell the difference between surviving and perishing in the new global economy. This book focuses on the dilemmas of these managers and offers constructive advice on dealing with culture shock and turning it to business advantage. Opposing values can be understood as complementary and reconcilable, say Charles Hampden-Turner and Fons Trompenaars. A manager who concentrates on integrating rather than polarizing values will make much better business decisions. Furthermore, the authors show, wealth is actually created by reconciling values-in-conflict. Based on fourteen years of research involving nearly 50,000 managerial respondents and on the authors’ extensive experience in international business, the book compares American cultural values to those of more than forty other nations. It explores six culture-defining dimensions and their reverse images (universalism-particularism, individualism-communitarianism, specificity-diffusion, achieved status–ascribed status, inner direction–outer direction, and sequential time–synchronous time) and discusses them as alternative ways of coping with life’s—and business’s—exigencies. With humor, cartoons, and an array of business examples, the authors demonstrate how the reconciliation of cultural differences can cause whole organizations to grow healthier, wealthier, and wiser. /DIV/DIV
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300130635
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 400
Book Description
divdivCross-cultural competence is a skill that has become increasingly essential for the managers in multinational companies. For other business people, this kind of competence may spell the difference between surviving and perishing in the new global economy. This book focuses on the dilemmas of these managers and offers constructive advice on dealing with culture shock and turning it to business advantage. Opposing values can be understood as complementary and reconcilable, say Charles Hampden-Turner and Fons Trompenaars. A manager who concentrates on integrating rather than polarizing values will make much better business decisions. Furthermore, the authors show, wealth is actually created by reconciling values-in-conflict. Based on fourteen years of research involving nearly 50,000 managerial respondents and on the authors’ extensive experience in international business, the book compares American cultural values to those of more than forty other nations. It explores six culture-defining dimensions and their reverse images (universalism-particularism, individualism-communitarianism, specificity-diffusion, achieved status–ascribed status, inner direction–outer direction, and sequential time–synchronous time) and discusses them as alternative ways of coping with life’s—and business’s—exigencies. With humor, cartoons, and an array of business examples, the authors demonstrate how the reconciliation of cultural differences can cause whole organizations to grow healthier, wealthier, and wiser. /DIV/DIV
Barbarian Days
Author: William Finnegan
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0143109391
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 466
Book Description
**Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Autobiography** Included in President Obama’s 2016 Summer Reading List “Without a doubt, the finest surf book I’ve ever read . . . ” —The New York Times Magazine Barbarian Days is William Finnegan’s memoir of an obsession, a complex enchantment. Surfing only looks like a sport. To initiates, it is something else: a beautiful addiction, a demanding course of study, a morally dangerous pastime, a way of life. Raised in California and Hawaii, Finnegan started surfing as a child. He has chased waves all over the world, wandering for years through the South Pacific, Australia, Asia, Africa. A bookish boy, and then an excessively adventurous young man, he went on to become a distinguished writer and war reporter. Barbarian Days takes us deep into unfamiliar worlds, some of them right under our noses—off the coasts of New York and San Francisco. It immerses the reader in the edgy camaraderie of close male friendships forged in challenging waves. Finnegan shares stories of life in a whites-only gang in a tough school in Honolulu. He shows us a world turned upside down for kids and adults alike by the social upheavals of the 1960s. He details the intricacies of famous waves and his own apprenticeships to them. Youthful folly—he drops LSD while riding huge Honolua Bay, on Maui—is served up with rueful humor. As Finnegan’s travels take him ever farther afield, he discovers the picturesque simplicity of a Samoan fishing village, dissects the sexual politics of Tongan interactions with Americans and Japanese, and navigates the Indonesian black market while nearly succumbing to malaria. Throughout, he surfs, carrying readers with him on rides of harrowing, unprecedented lucidity. Barbarian Days is an old-school adventure story, an intellectual autobiography, a social history, a literary road movie, and an extraordinary exploration of the gradual mastering of an exacting, little-understood art.
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0143109391
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 466
Book Description
**Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Autobiography** Included in President Obama’s 2016 Summer Reading List “Without a doubt, the finest surf book I’ve ever read . . . ” —The New York Times Magazine Barbarian Days is William Finnegan’s memoir of an obsession, a complex enchantment. Surfing only looks like a sport. To initiates, it is something else: a beautiful addiction, a demanding course of study, a morally dangerous pastime, a way of life. Raised in California and Hawaii, Finnegan started surfing as a child. He has chased waves all over the world, wandering for years through the South Pacific, Australia, Asia, Africa. A bookish boy, and then an excessively adventurous young man, he went on to become a distinguished writer and war reporter. Barbarian Days takes us deep into unfamiliar worlds, some of them right under our noses—off the coasts of New York and San Francisco. It immerses the reader in the edgy camaraderie of close male friendships forged in challenging waves. Finnegan shares stories of life in a whites-only gang in a tough school in Honolulu. He shows us a world turned upside down for kids and adults alike by the social upheavals of the 1960s. He details the intricacies of famous waves and his own apprenticeships to them. Youthful folly—he drops LSD while riding huge Honolua Bay, on Maui—is served up with rueful humor. As Finnegan’s travels take him ever farther afield, he discovers the picturesque simplicity of a Samoan fishing village, dissects the sexual politics of Tongan interactions with Americans and Japanese, and navigates the Indonesian black market while nearly succumbing to malaria. Throughout, he surfs, carrying readers with him on rides of harrowing, unprecedented lucidity. Barbarian Days is an old-school adventure story, an intellectual autobiography, a social history, a literary road movie, and an extraordinary exploration of the gradual mastering of an exacting, little-understood art.