In 1996, Allan Weisbecker sold his home and his possessions, loaded his dog and surfboards into his truck, and set off in search of his longtime friend and surfing companion, Christopher, who had vanished into the depths of Central America. In this rollicking memoir of his quest from Mexico to Costa Rica to unravel the circumstances of Christopher's disappearance, Weisbecker intimately describes the people he befriended, the bandits he evaded, and the waves he caught and lost en route to finding his friend. Along the way, he shares hilarious stories of his adventures with Christopher in their carefree youth as globetrotting, pot-dealing beach bums. A tale of lost innocence and enduring friendship, In Search of Captain Zero is a trip unlike any other.
About the Author :
Allan C. Weisbecker, novelist, screenwriter, memoirist, and surfer, is the author of Cosmic Banditos, In Search of Captain Zero, and Can't You Get Along with Anyone?: A Writer's Memoir and a Tale of a Lost Surfer's Paradise. He has written articles for surfing magazines and has collaborated in writing screen and television scripts, including Crime Story and Miami Vice.
Joe Barrett, an actor and Audie Award and Earphones Award-winning narrator, has appeared both on and off Broadway as well as in hundreds of radio and television commercials.
Review :
"[A] lovely personal reflection that mixes the right amount of dreamy meditation with page-turning allure...Weisbecker clearly delights in storytelling as much as he enjoys language itself...[Rich] imagery with a balance of pathos and humor make Weisbecker's account very worthwhile reading."
-- "Publishers Weekly"
"A memoir with the feel of a road novel...in which the truth--a chill of regret and loneliness--steals in like the first fall breeze after a summer that has, after all, ended."
-- "Los Angeles Times"
"A subtly affecting tale of friendship and duty. [It] deserves a spot on the microbus dashboard as a hell of a cautionary tale about finding paradise and smoking it away."
-- "Outside"
"Enchanting...[Weisbecker's] adventures are as thrilling and as entertaining as any fictional road trip could ever hope to be...This memoir is, like any good autobiography, a journey to the place where memories live, an adventure of the mind."
-- "Booklist"
"These gut-wrenching tales will make your heart race as if a coke-filled balloon popped in your belly."
-- "Swell Magazine"
Weisbecker's crowning achievement is the ability to reflect some of surfing's more subtle elements to the mainstream without alienating the core reader, making this one of the more accessible and enjoyable tales for both audiences.
-- "Surfline"
