The original first edition of the first ever guide book to California surfing. Original wraps 14x22cm with a photo of Bill Cleary surfing to the front, and Southern California Key Map to the back. Printed in the US by Thomas Litho. i-viii, (9)-272pp, illustrated with b/w photos and maps throughout, including annotated aerial photos by Eduardo and Lola Ricci, with other photos credited to numerous individuals in the text. Wraps good with protective tape neatly applied along the edges and spine, and short tear to spine tail. Interiors with previous owner's name to half-title, and neatly in large black felt tip lettering to the base of the text block with about 1mm bleeding into the lower edges, are otherwise very good. Identified as Volume 1 in the International Surfing Guide Book Series with Stern as Editor, further volumes were planned for other locations worldwide, but these did not happen. However, there were subsequent editions for Southern California, with this one reprinted by Mountain & Sea with some small changes in 1998 as a "35th Anniversary Nostalgia Edition". The idea arose when Stern became hooked on surfing from his first wave in 1960, and finding only 4 books on the subject, determined to write one himself. He met Cleary through James Fitzpatrick's dad, and they ended up co-authoring this from Cleary's original draft. It covers 300 or so spots divided into areas between Point Conception and the Mexican border. For each area it describes the general conditions with maps showing spots and access roads. Details for the spots cover the size range of waves, direction of ride, type of break, wave shape, swell direction, hazards etc, and "For the more adventurous surfer we have included appendixes on the relatively virgin surfing areas in Baja California and the Channel Islands" (p. vii). Other content includes an introduction to surfing in Southern California, emergency information, miscellaneous (clubs, contests, etc), equipment and services, tide tables, and an index to surfing spots. The composite author bios are by James Fitzpatrick, reflecting humorously on how little they have in common other than surfing. Surfresearch regards this work as probably unequalled in its detail, unique inclusion of aerial photos, significant accompanying photos featuring many important surfers (George Freeth p17, George Greenough p32, Mickey Dora pp61, 98-99, Phil Edwards p166, Greg Noll pp126-128), and in its humour. 5000 copies were printed which sold out by 1969, with the next edition published by Mountain & Sea not appearing until 1977 (Surfresearch; DeLaVega, 200 Years of Surfing Literature, C12, p65). Few appear to have survived, with Worldcat locating only 7 institutions mostly in California (LOC, Park City Library, UC Berkeley, College of Marin, Whittier Public Library, UCLA, Vanguard University).
