I grew up in Minnesota, which is why I requested a copy of this to review. I had plenty of preconceptions, and this book showed me a story of growing up in Wisconsin that I never would have guessed at. Though I don't care for surfing myself, reading these stories was still rewarding to me as an outsider because the brothers' passion came through in a way I could understand. ( )

**This book was exchanged for an honest review**

Some Like It Cold is a thrilling adventure of adolescent, twin brothers as they find their passion for surfing. This book, published by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press, encapsulates a small part of a niche community. Following the brothers as they discover lake surfing, rivalry, passion, and girls, you will be enveloped in the vivid descriptions of the snow covered beach, and adrenaline of high stakes surfing. In a place where surfing requires below zero temperatures, and shark like reflexes, every paddle out is a dance with fate. Povletich has an amazing way of taking that pure emotion and recording it in this book. You will find yourself laughing, crying, and on the edge of your seat as you dive into this micro history about two brothers searching for the perfect wave in their own backyard of Sheboygan, Wisconsin. ( )

To the casual observer, the word “surfing” conjures visions of Hawaii and California. As readers of “Some Like It Cold” quickly learn, there is and has been a vibrant surfing culture on the Great Lakes with Sheboygan earning the title of the Malibu of the Midwest.

This book focuses on the lives of twin brothers, Lee and Larry Williams and their quest to earn the respect of the surfing brotherhood, both for themselves and inland surfing. This book follows their lives from their youth during which their rebuff by the existing Great Lakes Surf Club drove them to form the Lake Shore Surf Club and use it to promote their inland sport. At its height it would sponsor the Dairyland Surf Classic, the great Labor Day gathering of surfers from around the Great Lakes and the world.

This is a collection of personal anecdotes interspersed with general history of the surfing sport. I learned a lot from reading this book. I gained an insight into the surfing culture, the sense of adventure that drives one to mount those waves, the migration of surfing from the South Pacific to around the world and what makes Sheboygan such a great place to surf. The physical challenges that Lee and Larry faced are daunting. When author William Povletich says “Some Like It Cold” he is not just talking about the lake chilling in July. He is talking about ice floes in December, frigid rescues and hypothermia.

Beyond surfing this is a human story of brothers who challenged the best in the other, provided support in tragedy and shared their love of the sport. I do not want to go into more detail because William Povletich has woven a novel quality saga out of these intertwined lives. I read this on a Lake Michigan Beach in Door County, well north of Sheboygan, in July when icicles were not to be seen, and could almost visualize the surfing amidst the crashing waves. “Some Like It Cold” is a rewarding read for anyone with an interest in the sport, the Lakes or just a moving human interest story.

I did receive a free copy of this book to read and review. ( )

When they think of Wisconsin, most people likely think about beer, brats, cheese, or something of that sort. Rarely do they think of surfing yet, the "Malibu of the Midwest," a surfing hot spot can be found in none other than Sheboygan, Wisconsin, halfway between Milwaukee and Green Bay, for freshwater surfing on Lake Michigan.

I knew none of this but requested this ER book because I lived about an hour north and thought it'd be interesting. That it was.

Larry and Lee Williams are twin brothers who recount their lives surfing in Sheboygan, going back to their early days in the 1960's, idolizing older boys who surfed. They formed their own surf club and, for many years, they organized the Dairyland Surf Classic, which was held on Labor Day weekend and attracted surfers from everywhere.

They also recounted their close calls in the water, as well as the role that surfing played in their family lives.

Much to my surprise, this was an excellent book!! Loved it. ( )

William Povletich’s biography is about twin brothers, Lee and Larry Williams, who have shared a passion for surfing in landlocked Wisconsin since they were kids. Their lifelong dedication to the sport would become part of the Great Lakes surf legacy, and prompt them to be co-founders of the Dairyland Surf Classic.

The thrill-seeking siblings were raised in the late 1960s along the icy shores of Lake Michigan, and longed to be accepted into Sheboygan’s surf culture. Eventually they would, but as they grew older, their days of conquering the slush-covered waves were also shared with life’s difficult moments: family losses, marriage struggles and grief.

When misfortune occurred, the two immersed themselves in some very cold therapy, beer drinking and surfing. Povletich’s biography, however, misses an opportunity of examining the surf-crazed brothers’ kinship to the chilly waterfront during life’s ups and downs. His focus is on their growing pains – against the broader background of surfing the Malibu of the Midwest. Though heartbreaking at times, chronicling the twins’ rugged, Lord of the Flies behavior and their obsession with being accepted into the local surfing community becomes monotonous. He does succeed in depicting the brothers as real and ordinary people. ( )