Authors Peter Neushul and Peter Westwick faced down a fierce lineup of challenges as they sought to bring a more sophisticated and historically informed point of view to surfing — a subject that’s traditionally been long on hero worship and name dropping and conspicuously short on analysis and context — in their book The World in the Curl: An Unconventional History of Surfing. Several years and many great waves later, their brilliant and uncompromising vision of what surfing is — more than a sport, but not an isolated cultural phenomenon either — hits the stores. Both men are experienced surfers with PhDs in the history of science. Join them Wednesday, August 14, at 7 p.m. at Chaucer’s Books, 3321 State St. to celebrate the publication of their essential new book. Info: 682-6787; chaucersbooks.com.