Customer Reviews

Big: The 50 Greatest World Record Catches

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BIG: The 50 Greatest World Record Catches with the magnificent art of Flick Ford and the well researched text of Mike Rivkin just came out October 2009. The 14" by 11" book is an intriguing collection of art and stories and factual information that even those not into fishing will find worth owning. A great deal of research went into documenting the 50 world record catches along with finding archival photographs to go with each of the record catches. The book could stand alone as an art book on the basis of the art of Flick Ford in the detailed portraits of the 50 species of fish dealt with in this book. Flick's first book FISH: 77 Great Fish of North America, published in 2006, was widely acclaimed, winning the bronze Independent Publisher Book Award for the best coffee table book. As the reader of BIG: The 50 Greatest World Record Catches, I first was fascinated by the pictures of each of the different species of world record catches depicted in the colorful, detailed art of Ford, but as I began to read about the individual record catches, I was drawn into a wonderful world of stories and yarns that allowed me to vicariously experience the adventure of going after and attaining a record catch. The archival photos also brought a reality to the record catches. The book is certainly a wonderful coffee table collectable, but whoever opens the pages will definitely give this book more than a cursory look. I marveled at the time and effort that had to have gone into the making of the book. From the story of Alfred C. Glassell, Jr.'s catch of the record 1,560 pound monster black marlin off the coast of Peru to the story of George Perry landing the record large mouthed bass of 22 pounds 4 ounces, the book takes the reader beyond just the documented facts of each record catch. The book is a terrific conversation piece that will not only illicit a great deal of comment but also become a reference volume that artfully answers a lot of questions about the quests for the biggest catches in the world

I bought this book for my boss who is an avid fisherman. I opened it first because I was very curious about it. It is a really cool book. The way it is set up it has info on the first set of pages and then a huge Flick Ford picture on the other set. It is both a picture book and a reading book. My husband after seeing this book has requested one for himself.