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Title: The Answer Is Never: A Skateboarder's History of the World
ISBN: 0802139450
Author:
Jocko Weyland
Publicate Date: 2002-08-21
Publish: 2002-08-21
List Price: $13.50
Average Customer Rating: 5.0
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $3.95
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $2.44
Amazon Merchant Price: $10.80
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Describing the color red
Growing up in the 80s I was surrounded by skateboarding, whether it be in the form of my Mom's friend's daughter showing me how to (attempt to) ride down the street at age 10, the kids skating in the "hip town" of Hyannis, MA (which was a "city" to someone from The Cape), watching my neighbors skate and build their own ramps, watching the early skate videos, or ogling through Transworld Skate or Thrasher and wishing I'd had enough coordination to actually be able to learn what I was seeing. I found this book at the public library and thought it might be an interesting read, but I had no idea what I was in for. Granted, Weyland's writing can be very subjective and he tends to "go off" about what skating has become (as many people who have been skating their entire life can), but what he wrote isn't just his complaints about skating and the industry. There's a lot of information about the history of skating (which a lot of people who claim to skate might not have any ideas about), and also stories about what skating was like before The Circus of what is now began. What he's written gives the person who doesn't understand skating the ability to have some inkling of what it's like, and to understand that "skating" isn't just what they see, but it's a culture, a lifestyle, a thought pattern, a philosophical journey, and can even be a family. One truly interesting part of the book (for me, being a 28 year-old college professor) is Weyland's comments and thoughts about going from being "in the know" to being considered "old." I would definitely suggest this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about the history of the sport and the genesis of what they see before them today.
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2: Literary History of the Sport Lovingly Told
Weyland chronicles the history of the sport from its ancestry in Hawaiian surfing through its recent emergence as a mass-marketed ESPN drawing card. While carefully charting this history, he intersperses lenghty (though riveting) tales from his own experiences growing up as a skater. These tales, which are indicative of how the skating mileau of the time shaped him, are a valuable time capusle to which many readers will relate. He manages to do all of this very artfully so that what seems to be a bi-polar stucture is nearly seamless. Few books measure up to the narrative and literary standards I expect from authors--but this one far surpasses them (a pleasant surprise). Novice skaters and parents who wish to understand skating culture should read this book and also Tony Hawk's Operation: Skateboarder. Both are fast reads (despite their 300+ pagecounts) and demonstrate two contrasting aspects of the sport and the corresponding worldviews engendered therein. Really, it's so good if Weyland waxes poetic on ice fishing I'd have to check it out. Please note that this book is a lot more fun to read than my dull review.
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3: the answer is...
Indeed there is something to be said for reaching out with the internet. Jocko has, since my previous review, made good with a payment for the photo usage in this book, and has been added to my personal list, as another "Cadillac of Dudes".
-M.Fo
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4: don't give them what they want, give them what they need
Echoes many of my sentiments from the early days.
As for the days surrounding my involvement, it is how I remember it, and how I intended it.
That never happens, but it did in this book, and I don't even know this guy, and never talked to him. He did use some of my photos without asking me though, and I never got a dime. I can be reached through Thrashers publisher, in the event there is a check waiting for me, and no where to mail it.
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5: fun book for anybody to read
being a 32 year old skateboard enthusiast (going on 18 years), i could feel myself re-living my past. he brings back the essence of what skateboarding is, was, and "will be" all about. i've had the wonderful opportunity to meet, and skate with this great author, and he truly does have a passion. the book is a part of his energy, and an element of the soul of skateboarding. i would urge anybody interested in skateboarding, or what skateboarding is about, to buy it. A+ jocko!
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