Welcome to Paradise, Now Go to Hell, Chas Smith
Welcome to Paradise, Now Go to Hell, Chas Smith
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Welcome to Paradise, Now Go to Hell
A True Story of Violence, Corruption, and the Soul of Surfing

Author: Chas Smith, Joan Jett

Narrator: Chas Smith

Unabridged: 7 hr 12 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 12/22/2020

Synopsis

Welcome to Paradise, Now Go to Hell, is surfer and former war reporter Chas Smith's wild and unflinching look at the high-stakes world of surfing on Oahu's North Shore—a riveting, often humorous, account of beauty, greed, danger, and crime.

For two months every winter, when Pacific storms make landfall, swarms of mainlanders, Brazilians, Australians, and Europeans flock to Oahu's paradisiacal North Shore in pursuit of some of the greatest waves on earth for surfing's Triple Crown competition. Chas Smith reveals how this influx transforms a sleepy, laid-back strip of coast into a lawless, violent, drug-addled, and adrenaline-soaked mecca.

Smith captures this exciting and dangerous place where locals, outsiders, the surf industry, and criminal elements clash in a fascinating look at class, race, power, money, and crime, set within one of the most beautiful places on earth. The result is a breathtaking blend of crime and adventure that captures the allure and wickedness of this idyllic golden world.

About Chas Smith

Chas Smith is the author of Welcome to Paradise, Now Go to Hell, which was optioned for television by Fox 21 (Homeland and Sons of Anarchy) with producers at Television 360 (Game of Thrones) and a finalist for the PEN Center USA Award for Nonfiction.

Chas began his writing career as a foreign correspondent, penning pieces for Vice, Paper, and Blackbook, amongst others, from Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Somalia, Azerbaijan, and Colombia, which led to a brief career as a war correspondent for Current TV.

After being kidnapped by Hezbollah during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war he transitioned to surf journalism where he was a featured writer at the brash Stab before becoming editor at large at Surfing Magazine. There he developed a reputation as the most controversial voices in the space. Matt Warshaw, author of the Encyclopedia of Surfing, calls him, "Bright and hyper-ironic." William Finnegan, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Barbarian Days, says that Chas, " . . . calls it like he sees it and in surfing that's not usually the case."

Chas Smith is the co-owner of a surf website, BeachGrit.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Kate on September 09, 2016

I found this book to be vapid and totally self-serving. Sure, there are a few interesting anecdotes about the surf industry and the inhabitants of the North Shore, but mostly this book is about CHAS SMITH, who, frankly, is not even remotely interesting. I lost count of how many times he mentioned hi......more

Goodreads review by Joel on February 15, 2014

The first few chapters I was like what the hell does this have to do with surfing? Then it kicked in real hard, and by the time it was about the ocean the battlefield undertone analogies all made sense. This is a riveting read an introspect few would kill for and most would die for. Chas Smith goes......more

Goodreads review by Larahelena_ on December 26, 2021

Truly, I loved this little cover of north shore secrets and myths. Loved the language, loved the tea and loved how he never actually came to one point but left all possibilities open.......more

Goodreads review by Riley on May 31, 2023

Givin' Australians a bad name: the book. Lol I know he's just like that and wrote a book in his own voice but he can't be mad if people hate it (read: hate him). I was really trying to not leave a mean review but then the final line implies Hawai'i "belongs" to him THATS A QUUOOOOTTE thats a quote h......more

Goodreads review by Kaelen on November 16, 2024

Can't wait to get punched on the north shore this winter......more

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