"One Of Hawaii's Unsung Heroes"

If you have any interest in surfing, you are going to enjoy reading about one of the legendary heroes of the sport, Hawaiian, Edward (Eddie) Ryan Aikau. This is a tale of an unknown and unsung hero outside of his native State of Hawaii, who had selflessly rescued several persons from drowning in the treacherous waters of Hawaii.

A person, who whenever people asked him if he were the famous big-wave surfer, he would reply, "No, I'm a golfer." This was Eddie at his modest and humble best, as he probably never picked up a golf club in his life! He would not even admit to being a tremendous surfer, one of the most skilled surfers in the world. Someone who was able to surf the biggest wave in Waimea Bay, that even today people shake their heads in amazement.

Fearless, yet not a reckless surfer, the author relates an incident, when even a tiger shark failed to rattle Eddie. Apparently, a 20- foot shark approached Eddie, who initially did not see the shark. "The shark sees him and comes up to Eddie, and then stops and looks at Eddie, Eddie looks at him and the shark just turned around. Clyde, after witnessing what had happened, said to Eddie, 'Hele on (let's go), brah, 'hele" on, please!" Clyde believed that the shark was the Aikau's "aumakua," ancestral spirits who take the form of natural guardians and watch over the family.

Fusing biography with the history of modern day surfing, author Stuart Holmes Coleman's book Eddie Would Go: The Story Of Eddie Aikau Hawaiian Hero introduces his readers to a sport that only took off during the time Aikau was at his peak. As one of Aikau's co-surfers, James Jones remarked: "Our generation helped get the sport off the ground."

Coleman has a sharp eye for the small but beautiful details portraying this unsung hero. It is not surprising that the author devoted three years interviewing 40 persons in order to vividly capture the character and life of this Hawaiian hero.

One of the interviewees best described him as "an intense person who could step through both windows of time: he could participate in the modern world as well as anyone, but his soul was deep and old." This probably in essence is what Eddie Aikau was all about, and this is what makes the story so fascinating.

He will always be remembered as an unselfish human being, who sacrificed his own life in order to save the lives of others.

Written on his memorial is the inscription, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down for his friends." (John 15:13).....Eddie Aikau is gone, but his name will live on in the annals of heroism in Hawaii. His spirit will live too, wherever the Hokule'a sails....."

Reviewed by Norman Goldman
Courtesy Bookpleasures
Posted January 26, 2003

Summary

Eddie Would Go is the only biography of one of Hawaii's greatest heroes. A shy and humble man by nature, Eddie Aikau became larger than life in the ocean. As a surfer, he rode the biggest waves in the world; as a lifeguard, he saved hundreds of lives from the North Shore's treacherous waters; and as a proud Hawaiian, he sacrificed his life to save his fellow sailors aboard the voyaging canoe Hokule'a. But more than a biography of a courageous waterman, Stuart Coleman's Eddie Would Go also tells the story of modern Hawaii and Eddie's role in the Hawaiian Renaissance during the 1970's. The book is based on numerous interviews with his family, friends and many of Hawaii's leading watermen and scholars. Coleman weaves together their memories in an exciting and informative story. By exploring his legendary life and legacy, this book will show why Eddie has become such an enduring icon in Hawaii and the surfing world.