From Publishers Weekly
Though it will probably be shelved in either the sports or outdoors section, Kinney's account would be right at home in the anthropology department. As Kinney, a Philadelphia journalist, explains in his fun, easygoing prose, the Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby is more than just your run-of-the-mill fishing tournament. The monthlong competition and two grand prizes worth $30,000 each turn visitors and islanders into work-skipping, bleary-eyed (big stripers feed at night) fishing maniacs. Kinney provides an insider's view of striper madness by not only presenting the fish tales of Derby judges, experts and salty regulars, but by also wetting a line and participating. He discovers that what started in 1946 as an advertising scheme to get visitors to the island has become symbolic of Martha's Vineyard's continuing personality crisis between its blue collar, commercial fishing roots and its newer, wealthy persona. The book is a lot of fun as Kinney's day-in, day-out descriptions of the tournament itself—complete with accusations of cheating, bitter rivalries, health concerns and Cinderella stories—play out like a frenzied baseball season condensed into one month of triple-headers.
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The Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby is a five-week fishing tournament, but that description doesn’t really do it justice. The derby, which has been held annually since 1946, is no mere fishing contest. It is, depending on the participant, a quest, a near-religious event, a self-affirmation, or just a chance to prove you can catch the biggest fish. In this lively book, Kinney combines a first-person account of a single derby with a history of the tournament itself (and it’s a distinctly checkered history, with allegations of corruption and conspiracy, not to mention a few notable fatalities). He focuses on the personalities involved: the participants in the derby, the organizers, and the residents of Martha’s Vineyard, who for five weeks every year see their island turned into what amounts to a staging area for a sea battle. Fans of you-are-there accounts of sporting competitions will definitely want to read this one.
