Waves were better than anything in books, better than movies, better even than a ride at Disneyland, because with them the charge of danger was uncontrived. It was real."
-- William Finnegan (chapter 2 paragraph 2)

Importance: From a very early age, Finnegan was obsessed with waves and the water. His mother brought him to the ocean from the time he was very young in California, and he loved listening to the concussion of waves while underwater. When he was 10, he fell in love with surfing--an obsession that would never lose.Though he grew up in southern California in the heyday of the magic of Disneyland and the movies, Finnegan was more drawn to the water and to waves. He loved the danger of the waves, and he always had a penchant for recklessness that surfing brought to the fore. He also eschewed the man-made attractions of California in favor of natural attractions, like the ocean. He found...