Welcome to Paradise, Now Go to Hell: A True Story of Violence, Corruption, and the Soul of Surfing

A finalist for the PEN Center USA Award for Nonfiction

Welcome to Paradise, Now Go to Hell, is surfer and former war reporter Chas Smith s wild and unflinching look at the high-stakes world of surfing on Oahu s North Shore a riveting, often humorous, account of beauty, greed, danger, and crime.

For two months every winter, when Pacific storms make landfall, swarms of mainlanders, Brazilians, Australians, and Europeans flock to Oahu s paradisiacal North Shore in pursuit of some of the greatest waves on earth for surfing s Triple Crown competition. Chas Smith reveals how this influx transforms a sleepy, laid-back strip of coast into a lawless, violent, drug-addled, and adrenaline-soaked mecca.

Smith captures this exciting and dangerous place where locals, outsiders, the surf industry, and criminal elements clash in a fascinating look at class, race, power, money, and crime, set within one of the most beautiful places on earth. The result is a breathtaking blend of crime and adventure that captures the allure and wickedness of this idyllic golden world.