Includes index.

Waves are an endless source of fascination for everyone, from scientists to surfers. Who, in watching, is not mesmerized by the ongoing cycles of surge and rush, flow and ebb, storm and calm? This book celebrates the ocean wave phenomenon through several modes of interpretation. Most prominent is a gallery of over 100 color photographs by such renowned photographers as Woody Woodworth, John Severson and Don King, side by side with images from the archives of NASA. The photographs are illuminated by a text that includes a description of the lifecycle of waves (illustrated with three-dimensional cutaway renderings depicting the interaction of land and ocean); anecdotes from sailors, surfers, canoeists and others; excerpts from literature pertaining to waves; a metaphysical interpretation of waves; and an explanatory photographers' index to the gallery.--From publisher description.