Dimensions
153 x 233 x 27mm
Reclusive and gregarious, cocksure and cryptic, uncompromising and contradictory, Miki 'Da Cat' Dora was surfing's most outspoken practitioner, chief anti-hero and enduring mystery. At a time when the Beat poets were howling about the need to just, like, be yourself, man, Miki and a small group of social fringe-dwellers were realising those desires on the translucent swells of Southern California. But who was the real Miki Dora?
Born in Los Angeles in 1934, Miklos Sandor Dora was one of the pioneers of the 50's surf scene - chasing wave after perfect, empty wave, from San Onofre to Malibu to Rincon. But as the beaches became more crowded and the businessmen took over the sport, Miki turned his back on the culture that had made him a hero, preferring instead the life of an outlaw. His scams caught up with him and in 1973 he was charged with fraud, but he skipped bail and went on the run. He was finally arrested in France in 1981 and spent a year behind bars in the US. After his release Dora quickly became an expatriate and settled variously in New Zealand, South Africa, and France. He would return America once in a while - but never again to live, and in the end only to die. Yet through it all, Dora remained one of surfing's most seductive icons, captivating the imagination of generations.
In this brilliantly comprehensive biography, based on interviews with hundreds of people who knew him, David Rensin sets out to uncover the man behind the myth. Miki's is the story of traversing life's least-travelled road; the rewards and the costs it brings. It is also a story of innocence lost, of the growth and commercialization of the California lifestyle and, in surprising parallel, the rise and fall of Los Angeles. The life of Miki Dora is the greatest surf story never told.
