{"product_id":"waterman-the-life-and-times-of-duke-kahanamoku-9780803254770","title":"Waterman: The Life and Times of Duke Kahanamoku","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eWaterman \u003c\/i\u003eis the first comprehensive biography of Duke Kahanamoku (1890-1968): swimmer, surfer, Olympic gold medalist, Hawaiian icon, waterman. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Long before Michael Phelps and Mark Spitz made their splashes in the pool, Kahanamoku emerged from the backwaters of Waikiki to become America's first superstar Olympic swimmer. The original \"human fish\" set dozens of world records and topped the world rankings for more than a decade; his rivalry with Johnny Weissmuller transformed competitive swimming from an insignificant sideshow into a headliner event. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Kahanamoku used his Olympic renown to introduce the sport of \"surf-riding,\" an activity unknown beyond the Hawaiian Islands, to the world. Standing proudly on his traditional wooden longboard, he spread surfing from Australia to the Hollywood crowd in California to New Jersey. No American athlete has influenced two sports as profoundly as Kahanamoku did, and yet he remains an enigmatic and underappreciated figure: a dark-skinned Pacific Islander who encountered and overcame racism and ignorance long before the likes of Joe Louis, Jesse Owens, and Jackie Robinson. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Kahanamoku's connection to his homeland was equally important. He was born when Hawaii was an independent kingdom; he served as the sheriff of Honolulu during Pearl Harbor and World War II and as a globetrotting \"Ambassador of Aloha\" afterward; he died not long after Hawaii attained statehood. As one sportswriter put it, Duke was \"Babe Ruth and Jack Dempsey combined down here.\" \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e In \u003ci\u003eWaterman\u003c\/i\u003e, award-winning journalist David Davis examines the remarkable life of Duke Kahanamoku, in and out of the water. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDavid Davis is the author of \u003ci\u003eShowdown at Shepherd's Bush: The 1908 Olympic Marathon and the Three Runners Who Launched a Sporting Craze\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003ePlay by Play: Los Angeles Sports Photography, 1889-1989\u003c\/i\u003e; and \u003ci\u003eMarathon Crasher: The Life and Times of Merry Lepper, the First American Woman to Run a Marathon\u003c\/i\u003e. His work has appeared in \u003ci\u003eSports Illustrated\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSmithsonian\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e, and in three anthologies, including \u003ci\u003eThe Best American Sports Writing\u003c\/i\u003e. He lives in Los Angeles.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"University of Nebraska Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50692882432274,"sku":"9780803254770","price":26.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_84997c06-1818-431a-a421-f72138fd66e3.jpg?v=1734136796","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/waterman-the-life-and-times-of-duke-kahanamoku-9780803254770","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}