The mixed-race Hawaiian athlete George Freeth brought surfing to Venice, California, in 1907. Over the next twelve years, Freeth taught Southern Californians to surf and swim while creating a modern lifeguard service that transformed the beach into a destination for fun, leisure, and excitement. Patrick Moser places Freeth's inspiring life story against the rise of the Southern California beach culture he helped shape and define. Freeth made headlines with his rescue of seven fishermen, an act of heroism that highlighted his innovative lifeguarding techniques. But he also founded California's first surf club and coached both male and female athletes, including Olympic swimming champion and "father of modern surfing" Duke Kahanamoku. Often in financial straits, Freeth persevered as a teacher and lifeguarding pioneer—building a legacy that endured long after his death during the 1919 influenza pandemic.

A compelling merger of biography and sports history, Surf and Rescue brings to light the forgotten figure whose novel way of seeing the beach sparked the imaginations of people around the world.

| Cover Title Page Copyright Contents Acknowledgments A Note on Hawaiian Language Introduction 1. A Pacific Ocean Childhood 2. Renewing a Royal Sport at Waikiki 3. A Waterman in Los Angeles 4. The Rescue 5. Amateur Troubles 6. A Gold Life-Saving Medal 7. Return to the Islands 8. From Competitor to Mentor 9. Coaching Duke 10. A New Beginning in San Diego 11. Chief Lifeguard 12. Last Breath Notes Bibliography Index Back cover |"A valuable and absorbing biography, starring a forgotten founder of California beach culture." —Library Journal, starred review
"It's terrific to have such substantial research collected in a single volume with many falsehoods corrected. The fascinating part is that, despite the research that Moser has amassed, after so many years of low-flying fame, Freeth himself remains a smooth enigma." —Los Angeles Review of Books
"Moser's book will bring renewed attention to Freeth, whose contributions to surf and beach culture in California have typically been overshadowed by those of his fellow Hawaiian waterman and protege Duke Kahanamoku." —San Francisco Chronicle
|Patrick Moser is a professor of French at Drury University and editor of Pacific Passages: An Anthology of Surf Writing.