Book Report: Let My People Go Surfing

Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman, by Yvon Chouinard, founder and owner of Patagonia (the clothing company, not the region in South America)


I picked up this book at Barnes & Noble the other day, after reading a quote from it on a blog that I frequent regularly:


The book has been out for a while, and just came out in paperback, so I had a giftcard, and the rest is history.

And history is what this book is mostly about. The history and philosophies of the people that are running Patagonia. For the most part. I might be too critical, but there seem to be a little too much self-congratulatory back-patting going on, and some parts read like a Patagonia marketing pitch (guess I can kiss my chances of ever getting hired there goodbye). But I did find it informative, and I made it through cover to cover, so it must have held my attention somewhat, because believe me, I have no interest in starting an outdoor apparel company. I don't think I do anyway...

But regarding the history, I'm 32 years old, so most of the story was pretty new to me. I thought the evolution of how certain pieces of climbing gear and outdoor clothing evolved was intriguing, as was the relationship between certain companies in that industry with a common foundation. It's also pretty amazing that a company that large will go to such great lengths to be as "green" as they possibly can. So if you've got an interest in climbing gear, or might wonder about the journey that certain pieces of clothing have to go through before they become something you see on a rack in REI, check it out. $16 bucks might be pushing it, but I'm going to donate mine to my local library next week (after I see if I can actually muster up the will to write a longer review for our site), so you got a pretty good chance of finding one there!

Apologies if this is a repost, I searched "yvon" and surfing" but didn't come up with any results having to do with the book.

--Mark

PS- Happy New Year Everyone!

ExploreTheEast said:

For the most part. I might be too critical, but there seem to be a little too much self-congratulatory back-patting going on, and some parts read like a Patagonia marketing pitch...

Click to expand...

That's an interesting take, because I actually found it to be the opposite. I thought the way Chounaird represented his failures and mistakes to be very realistic and self deprecating. He would describe a mistake, describe what he learned and, most impressively, described how it ultimately made Patagonia a better company. It seems like he has a lot to brag about, but I never took it as that...just storytelling/outlining a case history. And, no, I don't work for Patagonia.

In any event, it's a very interesting read, and I would highly recommend it.

I agree with Trailbiscuit. Yvon Chouinard is one of the good guys in his giving back to protect the environment, much like Gary Hirschberg at Stonyfield Yoghurt.

Here is an article from last year that might be of interest.

http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/headlines/2006-07vongugelberg.shtml