Cleary and Stern capture the essence of SoCal surfing from the "golden years". Their descriptions of local surf spots are thorough and complete (unlike the bullet-point descriptions found in Bank Wright's "Surfing California", which is STILL a classic for the combination of photos, diagrams and general vibe). The authors obviously did their homework, and the grainy black and white photos add immeasurably to the feel and flavor of the time. Oh, yeah, the descriptions of the spots are pretty right on, too! This book covers everything from swells, peak takeoffs, larger surf, smaller surf, west swells, city lifeguard, lifeguard headquarters, medium tide, steep takeoff, smaller swells, south swells, most swells, ridable waves, north swell, right lineups, winter swells, surfing today, larger swells, mean high tide lines, surfing areas, lower tides, beach surf, lost boards, point surfing, summer swell. Includes these beaches and characters-Santa Monica, San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Clemente, Huntington Beach, San Onofre, Southern California, Pacific Beach, Imperial Beach, Corona del Mar, Leroy Grannis, Newport Beach, Dana Point, Mission Beach, Port Hueneme, Seal Beach, Laguna Beach, Long Beach, Los Angeles County, Point Conception, Sunset Cliffs, Hermosa Beach, Solana Beach, Joe Quigg, Los Angeles City.