The Hellpig Hunt: A Hunting Adventure in the Wild Wetlands at the Mouth of the Mississippi River by Middle Aged Lunatics Who Refuse to Grow Up [Hardcover]

Humberto Fontova (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 2003

Join in on a trip that tests the spirit, the body and the sense of humor of everyone involved. The action starts as soon as Humberto leaves the house, and doesn't stop until he and his buddies have been shocked, scared, gassed, gored, trampled and battered into submission.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

New Orleans journalist Fontova has covered diving, hunting and fishing for specialty magazines like Bowhunter, Scuba Times and Sierra and penned a book about divers who spear fish from oil rigs (Helldivers' Rodeo) two years ago. Now the hellbent author and his equally hellbent pals are back, intent on stirring up more nonstop macho action. This time they hope to nail a wild pig during a Louisiana bayou "hunting-fishing-boozing trip." The pig chase doesn't begin until page 173, but no matter. The fun is getting there. Amid their "orgy of blood-lust, booze, and lechery; a three-day indulgence of our primal passions in primitive splendor," readers get fascinating factoids of Louisiana lore, ecology, geology, history, politics and wildlife, plus literary, cinematic and pop culture references. Navigating the French Quarter and the Mississippi Delta's shallow marshes and squishy mudflats, Fontova and company encounter gators and girls gone wild, "plumb, freakin' crazy" hog hunters, migrating waterfowl, mosquitoes and snakes. Fun comes as the gang razzes a greenhorn businessman along for the hunt: "I explained to him that we cut more business deals in hunting and fishing camps than on any golf course, but probably just as many in titty bars." Memoir adds to the madhouse mix, with Fontova's flashbacks erupting in an onslaught of anecdotes. Fontova's voice is powerful and compelling, and the hog hunt finale is worth the wait. The end result is something like Deliverance as written by Hunter Thompson.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 244 pages
• Publisher: M.Evans & Company (October 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590770099
• ISBN-13: 978-1590770092
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,417,247 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #14 in Books > Travel > United States > States > Mississippi
  • #66 in Books > Travel > Specialty Travel > Senior Travel

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rousing tales of danger and wild pig encounters, September 8, 2004

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hellpig Hunt: A Hunting Adventure in the Wild Wetlands at the Mouth of the Mississippi River by Middle Aged Lunatics Who Refuse to Grow Up (Hardcover)

Take a hunting and fishing adventure story, set it in the wetlands of the Mississippi River mouth, and add two middle-age participants with a passion for hell-raising adventure and an ounce of sense and you have The Hellpig Hunt, a rowdy hunting trip into Louisiana territory which will have even the most seasoned hunter on the edge of his seat. Rousing tales of danger and wild pig encounters are anything but boaring and come from a maniacal hunter, fisherman, and author alike.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hellacious, December 16, 2003

By 

Steve Sailer (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Hellpig Hunt: A Hunting Adventure in the Wild Wetlands at the Mouth of the Mississippi River by Middle Aged Lunatics Who Refuse to Grow Up (Hardcover)

For anybody on your Christmas list who thinks golf is for wussies too housebroken to engage in bloodsport, there's Humberto Fontova's very funny The Hellpig Hunt: A Hunting Adventure in the Wild Wetlands at the Mouth of the Mississippi River by Middle-Aged Lunatics Who Refuse to Grow Up.

In case that title's insufficiently descriptive, here's Humberto's previous book's title: The Helldivers' Rodeo : A Deadly, Extreme, Scuba-Diving, Spear Fishing Adventure Amid the Offshore Oil-Platforms in the Murky Waters off the Gulf of Mexico. The Hellpig Hunt resembles what you'd get if Hunter S. Thompson went hunting with Bluto and the rest of the gang from Animal House. Plus, Humberto tosses in philosophical asides on the predatory nature of the human male from Camille Paglia, Edward O. Wilson, and the head philosopher of hunting, Jose Ortega Y Gasset of "Revolt of the Masses" fame.

A couple of years ago I tried to explain to Humberto the appeal of golf to guys like me: "You see, it's a like a suburbanized form of hunting. It's a battle against nature played out in an ideal landscape for hunting." My little dissertation appears to have been refracted back through Humberto's twisted brain on p. 138 of his tome:

"'Then why don't more men hunt?' you ask.

"'Lack of opportunity,' I answer. "They turn to golf for the same reason men turn to sodomy in prisons.'"

Gee, Humberto, thanks for phrasing my idea like that.

4.0 out of 5 stars Birthday gift, July 1, 2011

By 

Jeanna - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Hellpig Hunt: A Hunting Adventure in the Wild Wetlands at the Mouth of the Mississippi River by Middle Aged Lunatics Who Refuse to Grow Up (Hardcover)

Bought this as a birthday for my "great hunter" brother. I glanced through it and what I read was humorous. I think he will enjoy this read!