Big One

Quote

"The Big One is to competitive fishing what Friday Night Lights was to high school football." —News & Record (Greensboro)

Recognition

A Forbes Best Sports Book of the Year

Publication and Adaptation

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.

Story Overview

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.

Characters

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.

Review

"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