In 1911, a 21-year-old Native Hawaiian shattered the 100-yard freestyle world record by nearly five seconds, and mainland officials refused to believe it, suggesting the judges must have timed the race with alarm clocks. That swimmer was Duke Kahanamoku, and the world would soon learn it could not ignore him.

This deep dive goes far beyond his title as the father of surfing to explore an Olympic gold medalist, a Hollywood figure, a heroic lifesaver, and a longtime sheriff whose life mirrored the transformation of Hawaii itself, from sovereign kingdom to the 50th state.

• The indigenous flutter kick that baffled mainland swimming officials
• Multiple Olympic medals and racing against a future movie Tarzan
• Introducing surfing to California and Australia, once carving a board on the spot
• His superhuman 1925 surfb ...