Waikīkī Dreams: How California Appropriated Hawaiian Beach Culture. By Patrick Moser.

The article discusses the book "Waikīkī Dreams: How California Appropriated Hawaiian Beach Culture," which examines the influence of Hawaiian surf culture on California's beach culture, challenging the notion that California's surf scene is a direct continuation of Native Hawaiian traditions. The author, Patrick Moser, argues that Hawaiian beach culture was commercialized and distorted by Depression-era Californians, leading to a subculture shaped by colonialism and racial discrimination. The book is divided into three parts, focusing on the role of White individuals in building California's surf culture, the impact of colonialism and racism on specific beaches, and the implications of Tom Blake's "Hawaiian Surfboard" in surf history. Moser's work draws on a variety of primary sources and provides a critical examination of the intersection between Hawaiian surf history and California's social and cultural dynamics. [Extracted from the article]