Kinney, D: Big One

"The Big One is to competitive fishing what Friday Night Lights was to high school football." -News & Record (Greensboro) A Forbes Best Sports Book of the Year Published to rave reviews in hardcover and purchased by DreamWorks in a major film deal, The Big One is a spellbinding and richly atmospheric work by a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. Here is the story of a community-Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts-and a sporting event-the island's legendary Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby-that is rendered with the same depth, color, and emotional power of the best fiction. Among the characters, we meet: Dick Hathaway, a crotchety legend who once caught a bluefish from a helicopter and was ultimately banned for cheating; Janet Messineo, a recovering alcoholic who says that striped bass saved her life; Buddy Vanderhoop, a boastful Native American charter captain who guides celebrity anglers like Keith Richards and Spike Lee; and Wyatt Jenkinson, a nine-year-old fishing fanatic whose mother is battling brain cancer. At the center of it all is five-time winner Lev Wlodyka, a cagey local whose next fish will spark a storm of controversy and throw the tournament into turmoil. "The Big One is a rollicking true story of a grand American obsession. You don't have to be a fisherman to relish David Kinney's marvelous account of the annual striper madness on Martha's Vineyard, or his unforgettable portraits of the possessed. It's a fine piece of journalism, rich with color and suspense." -Carl Hiaasen, New York Times-bestselling author