Cover of the book "Capturing Kahanamoku" by Michael Rossi

The fascinating untold story of one scientist’s pursuit of a legendary surfer in his quest to define human nature, written with the compelling drama and narrative insight of Why Fish Don’t Exist and The Lost City of Z.

  • Capturing Kahanamoku is not just a story about the past. It’s a reflection on who we are, how we see each other, and the urgent need to use science responsibly; as a tool for understanding, not oppression.

     Dr. Heather Berlin, Neuroscientist, Host of the PBS Nova Series Your Brain, And Cohost of Startalk with Neil Degrasse Tyson

  • This brilliantly rendered history compels us to reconsider our notions of physical beauty and national identity, and raises important questions about the perils of pseudoscience.

    Dan Reiter, author of On a Rising Swell: Surf Stories from Florida’s Space Coast

  • [A] troubling legacy of obsession tucked inside a tropical legend of perfection—and a saga told [...] with grace, rigor and ten-toes-on-the-nose.”

    Steven Kotler, author of West of Jesus: Surfing, Science, and the Origins of Belief

  • A haunting, quietly devastating excavation of a story we should all know but don’t: how a surfing legend became the target of eugenic obsession.

    Laurie Gwen Shapiro, author of The Aviator and the Showman