Be respectful in the water or get pounded!

C-ya
Cenzo

You need not be familiar with all the Baja, Mainland, and Central America surf spots that the author takes you to - but it doesnt hurt either! If youve ever really thought about how you define the pecking order of a particular break or had a late night rendezvous with the local authorities in some less than Swiss-esque 3rd world nation - youll like this book! Esp. if you usually surf/travel with a good buddy!

Highly recommended. HIGHLY!

Id recommend this book to any life-long surfer, and to anyone who would like to know what really goes on inside an intelligent surfers head.

The tale will be best received by surfers, as it describes his multiple stops along the way in search of good waves. Having said this, these elements are not done in such a heavy-handed fashion that they would distance the casual reader. What I did find heavy-handed, and this is my sole criticism, is that I sometimes found Weisbeckers writing style to be what I can perhaps best describe as "testosterone driven." A bit too much machismo comes through at points, which I believe could in fact distance female readers. I found it particularly interesting since his editor is a woman. Regardless, its an enjoyable read nonetheless.

I describe his first book as "Vonnegut on acid." This one is tougher to pin down - less esoteric, but just as funny and more poignant.

I cant wait for Weisbeckers next work.

Weisbecker is NOT, however, a "philosopher," much as he would like to think of himself as a "deep" and thoughtful time traveler. Neither is he anyones friend, although he poses throughout as his former buddy Christophers great pal and soulmate. On the contrary, Weisbeckers world is replete with real and potential enemies, jerks, and idiots, from all of the non-surfing population of his small world to all Germans, stereotypes every one. It is no surprise that Weisbeckers women friends do not stick around long. Its not a matter of sexism: the man is tediously in love with himself and not about to create a union outside of his monadic self. I wondered that his poor dog Shiner lasted as Weisbeckers "faithful companion" as long as he did, although I notice that at the end even Shiner stays in the surf with Christopher and the five mutts rather than stick around self-bemoaning Allan on shore.

It is amusing to hear Weisbecker, time and again, reveal his extraordinarly immature behavior toward those he meets and, what is more interesting, his comical rationalization of their rejection of his arrogant, self-serving manner, on and off a "surf stick." In once scene, when Weisbecker is attemting to hustle marijuana onto shore in Long Island, he actually gets a friendly [if uninformed] hand from a couple of members of the Coast Guard Auxiliary. Weisbecker, always short on gratitude, opines that these "two fat guys wearing dumb hats" are members of an organization "largely composed of wannabe watermen, ... law-and-order types who join up for the para-military vibes, the testosterone-rich conviviality of meetings with other faux watermen, and the patches and hats they get to wear. True idiots, the vast majority have never been out of sight of land." Yes, Mr. Weisbecker is a genuine human being, a friend of humanity, if not of individual persons. Has Weisbecker considered that those many folks who seem initially to think of this chatty interloper as a jerk have it right the first time? A finely wrought case of "no one understands me."

For those fans of Thurbers "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," you will find ample tribute to Mittys worldview in this book. When Weisbecker, as captain of his ship [if not of his fate] narrates his misadventures, instead of focusing on his comic ineptitude, thereby demonstrating some psychological distance in his view of himself, he seems convinced that we really should consider him a legiminate successor to the "Great Age of Piracy" and the "explorers who had opened up the northeast a millenium past." But he fails to deliver the punch line ... so I gather he does believe this nonsense.

In the final analysis, one has here a failed, selfish man who has not matured, the classic aging hippy boy, a man who attacks his best friend, having already deserted his father, apparently a much more interesting figure than Allan Weisbecker the son, and a man to whom the son never measures up. The only redeeming aspect of Weisbeckers persona is his occasional descent into depression. Id suggest this depression always follows the onset of a bit of self-knowledge. Unfortunately, he keeps rallying.

Take a look at the cover photo, read the book for its facile manipulation of the language, but do not expect to learn the lessons of life from this aging child-man, unless, of course, one needs to be reminded that Socrates advice to "know thyself" can safely be ignored if one has sufficient chutzpah!

If youre looking for both a hilarious and thoughtful read I highly recommend this book.

Also, as someone who currently lives in Mexico and who has lived in Latin America for 6 years I found his take on the people/country to be thankfully devoid of the typical generalizations and stereotypes associated with the area.

For some extra fun check out this guys web site at ............................ . He is a prize winning photojournalist whose fantastic pictures taken during his two years in Mexico and Central America greatly enrich the spirt of the book. If you havent read the book (shame on you), the web site provides a stunning virtual vacation!

Allans descriptive and expansive tale winds through rich landscapes of mind, body and soul. Always balancing somewhere between the sensory indulgence of William Burroughs Naked Lunch, the hilarious situations and ironies of Miguel de Cervantes Don Quixote, and spiritual ruminations of Edgar Allan Poes The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, his adventures seem limitless and the surfing pure. Perhaps his story will help you find what youre searching for.

Go For It! Bravo!

The fact that Weisbecker is able to juggle all of these elements in one book speaks to his ability as a writer. He literally crafts his tales. As I read the book I would marvel at his choice of words. Choices that would take regular sentences and make them so much more. More funny, or more sad, or more clever... Just more interesting really.

In the end its about a mans search for meaning in his life, a man who questions the choices he has made and reflects upon why he made them. These are the same questions I ask myself every day.

Read IN SEARCH OF CAPTAIN ZERO you may find that you are on a similar journey.

This book is rich with unique anecdotes and imagery that could only be related by a dedicated and consummate waterman. His shortboard pioneering days on the North Shore, the life changing 69 swell, Mike Stewarts Pacific-spanning pursuit of a wave, Jock Sutherlands North Shore night ride, his thoughts on longboarding versus shortboarding, and the the lethal paranoid farce of pot running on the high seas in sundry leaking rustbuckets all spring to mind. The core of this story however is Weisbeckers search through 6 countries for Christopher and the past he so clearly misses. It is a tale of true friendship and of his dedication to rekindling a flame that seemed in danger of flickering out. And what exactly does he find at the town at the end of the road? Did Christopher get to live the dream they risked so much for in their youth? To reveal any more would be to spoil the experience of reading this book, but I will say this - he finds a wave.

In short, Captain Zero is superbly crafted and highly recommended reading - buy it now and you wont regret it. Allan Weisbecker is a by any definition a gifted writer and this story has the strength and depth to stand tall beyond the rarified confines of a surfer audience. His first novel Cosmic Banditos is already on its way to the big screen - I can only hope that Captain Zero will follow soon.

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