Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life

William Finnegan's memoir on surfing

Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life launched in 2015; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   Pipe Dreams: A Surfer's Journey▲76

   Surfer Kelly Slater shares his struggles & triumphs

   2015 · its alternatives →

2. 2IV
   I've been writing daily TILs for a year▲819

   2016 · github.com · its alternatives →

3. 3
   Life at Sea▲62

   Observations of a Modern Mariner

   2015 · its alternatives →

4. 4
   Moore's Law: The Life of Gordon Moore▲74

   Detailed biography of a quiet revolutionary

   2015 · its alternatives →

5. 5
   Seascapes▲56

   Hiroshi Sugimoto's 30 years photographing the world's seas

   2015 · its alternatives →

6. 6
   Wanderlust▲61

   A history of walking

   2016 · its alternatives →

7. 7
   I Dreamed I Was a Very Clean Tramp: An Autobiography▲66

   Autobio from one of the first New York punks

   2015 · its alternatives →

8. 8
   The Oxford History of Board Games▲73

   Investigates the myriad board games around the world

   2015 · its alternatives →

9. 9
   Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday▲76

   Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living

   2016 · its alternatives →

10. 10
    The Fish That Ate The Whale by Rich Cohen▲85

    Rich Cohen's historical profile of Samuel Zemurray

    2015 · its alternatives →

11. 11
    Hustle▲64

    The Life Changing Effects of Constant Motion

    2016 · its alternatives →

12. 12
    How Humans Learned to Cross the Ocean▲115

    A new story from Hardbound

    2016 · its alternatives →

13. 13
    The Heroin Diaries▲66

    A year in the life of a shattered rock star

    2015 · its alternatives →

14. 14
    Microadventures▲91

    Ideas for local adventures for busy folk. 5 to 9 Adventures.

    2015 · its alternatives →

15. 15
    Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage▲54

    A grizzly tale of hard decisions and high-stakes leadership

    2015 · its alternatives →

16. 16
    The Heroin Diaries▲66

    The book every rock and drug historian needs to read

    2015 · its alternatives →

17. 17
    Into Thin Air▲58

    A personal account of the Mt. Everest disaster

    2015 · its alternatives →

18. 18
    A Night to Remember by Walter Lord▲99

    The classic account of the final of the Titanic

    2015 · its alternatives →

19. 19
    Surfingers▲79

    Surf as far as you can.

    2016 · its alternatives →

20. 20
    Taking Stairs▲55

    A fascinating take on self-discipline

    2015 · its alternatives →

21. 21
    Incognito▲70

    The secret lives of the brain

    2016 · its alternatives →

22. 22
    Bigger Leaner Stronger▲67

    The simple science of building the ultimate male body

    2015 · its alternatives →

23. 23
    This American Life - How to Win Friends and Influence People▲76

    Stories of people climbing to be number one.

    2016 · its alternatives →

24. 24
    Moonwalking with Einstein▲72

    The story and science of memory.

    2015 · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →