I bought his book because I like to support independently produced skate art (and so should you…). Steve’s photos have even appeared Skateboarder, Thrasher, Juice, and the Surfer’s Journal, and most importantly (HA!) Skate and Annoy. I expected to be bombarded with photos of the Arizona pipes, and I was, but I wasn’t expecting all the additional content (pools, Love Bowls, skate parks) that qualify as the “& Beyond” in the title. I always thought these pipes were more or less in one location, but it turns out it was part of a massive project all over Arizona. One of my favorite things about this book is all the short oral histories interspersed in the various locals covered. Read the full review.

I just added two issues of Skate Life generously donated from reader Will Heesp, some 5 years ago. Better late than never. Funnily enough, I skated with Mark Conahan last night and he told me that he once sold Will a Datsun pickup in the 80’s whose ignition was in such bad shape that it had a screwdriver instead of a key. In other plate-of-shrimp news, one of the tales featured in an issue of Skate Life mentions that Dave Tobin lost a $100 bill and the keys to the van on a road trip to the Chicago Blowout. I was at that NSA contest, but wouldn’t meet Dave (or Mark) until I moved to Portland circa Y2K. Skate Life was based out of Newburryport, MA, and has the distinction of being one of the rare zines that doesn’t seem to include any issue number or title, so it’s hard to tell what order they came out. Check out Skate Life in the 80’s Zine gallery.