Renowned for its pristine beaches and celebrity inhabitants, Martha’s Vineyard is one of the most exclusive destinations in America. But each September, after the tourists clear out, thousands of fishermen take back the beaches to compete in the Vineyard’s annual fishing derby, a monthlong contest that pits plumbers against investment bankers, schoolkids against senior citizens, and natives against newcomers in a round-the-clock hunt for a great fish. Island immortality is at stake, and history has proven that anyone can win it: teenage girls, dozing fishermen, complete amateurs. In The Big One, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist David Kinney takes readers behind the scenes at the derby to chronicle thirty-five days of fish-addled hope and heartbreak. He captures all the action and introduces us to an eccentric gallery of characters that includes: Dick Hathaway, the crotchety legend who once caught a bluefish from a helicopter; Janet Messineo, a recovering alcoholic who says that striped bass saved her life; and 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 hugely entertaining story of passion and obsession that does for fishing what Friday Night Lights did for football.
The Big One
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
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. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
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.
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More About the Author
David Kinney is the author of The Big One (2009, Grove/Atlantic), which follows the fanatical saltwater fishermen of Martha's Vineyard during the island's annual derby. His journalism has appeared in newspapers around the world, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Boston Globe. At The Star-Ledger, New Jersey's largest paper, he was a political reporter on the team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2005.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By DC Churbuck
Format:Hardcover
Last winter Mark Alan Lovewell, the fishing beat reporter for the Vineyard Gazette wrote that a new book about the Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass & Bluefish Derby had been optioned by the Dreamworks studio. Cool, I blogged. I'd pay to see that flick. The author of the optioned book, David Kinney, detected my blog post through the magic of the InterWebs and sent me an email asking if I'd like a copy to review. Sure, I said. Send it along.
I own about six feet of bookshelf space devoted to fishing books. There's everything from how-to books such as Flounder Fishing and 99 Angling Tips from Lefty Kreh, to big important reference books like Fishes of the Gulf of Maine. In between are the few I pull down every few years and re-read; books like Dick Brown's authoritative book on bonefish, Thomas McGuane's 90 Degrees in the Shade, Peter Mathiessen's Men's Lives and the late Bob Post's Reading the Water, the original book about fishing on the Vineyard. Until now, Post's book has been the one to beat when tackling a subject as steeped in passion as the Derby, one of the oldest and most venerable fishing contests in the world.
It's not often that a Pulitzer-prize winning reporter (Philadelphia Inquirer) sets his mind to fishing, but David Kinney took the kind of trip most anglers dream about in the fall of 2007; he fished the entire Derby with a fishing rod in one hand and a notebook in the other. In the new tradition set by David DiBenedetto a few years back in On the Run, Kinney inserts himself in the story as the eager student sitting at the knee of the venerable experts. With a big dose of humility and another of humor, Kinney does a great job of explaining the history of the Derby, the culture of the off-season Vineyard (and the on-season celebrity soaked world of waterfront wealth), and the great stories that go with serious fishing. He has pulled off a few feats most angling scribes can't contemplate, most notably ingratiating himself into a closed secret society that makes the DaVinci Code look like a church bake sale. I can see why Dreamworks took the option on The Big One, there's enough skull-duggery, intrigue, charges of cheating and lying to drive a dozen plots.
Kinney written a keeper of a fishing book, no mean feat in a genre that tends to get breathless with clichés and pedantic with tips that never seem so smart in actual practice. And spare us from the fishing book that clutters the story with recipes (even, my late mentor John Hersey was recipe-guilty in his Vineyard fishing classic: Blues). This is just a solid story, a great one in parts, thanks to the fortuitous coincidence that Kinney was hanging around with Derby winner and all-around angling ace Lev Wlodyka during "Sinkergate" - the amazing incident where a cow of a striped bass weighed in by Wlodyka was found to contain a pound and half of lead sinkers.
"Instead he reaches all the way into the farthest recesses of the stomach, and as his hand comes out there is a clattering on the dfloor at his feet. It sounds exactly like change falling out of a pants pocket. Martha thinks it is a joke at first, like that time the guy cutting open a leaderboard fish dropped a wrench out of his sleeve as he fumbled around in the stomach. It takes her a moment to see that nobody's laughing. She looks at Lev and sees his face morph from shock to horror to embarrassment before he speaks.
"What the f#$k?"
"Inside Lev's fish-of-a-lifetime, D.J. has found a fistful of lead weights."
That's a scene just made for Hollywood, indeed, it brings to mind the scene in Jaws when they gut open a shark and out falls a Louisiana license plate.
Kinney infiltrated one of the most close-mouthed, evasive, secretive, mendacious, fraternal secret societies in the world - Martha's Vineyard fishing fanatics. Steve Amaral, Dick Hathaway, Whit Manter, Kib Bramhall, Nelson Bryant, Ed Jerome, Dave Skok, Chris Windram, Janet Messineo ... these are names familiar to saltwater fishing fanatics throughout the eastern seaboard, perhaps the world, and Kinney hitches a ride with them in the fall of 2007, accompanying them and others to the beaches, rips and inlets of the island in search of the Derby winner. Along the way he weaves in sixty-plus years of Derby history, island culture, and current drama. Read this book: if only for the description of the complex culture that exists on the jetties at Menemsha - a place I avoided during that same Derby in 2007, when I used my boat to free myself from the crowd that lives there for 838 hours every fall. There is no better way to greet the spring fishing season in New England than to read a good book that confirms why we stand in the water, up to our knees, hoping against hope and the need for sleep for something to happen out there, in the dark, under the water on the end of our lines.
I leave you with the part that hit home the closest:
"People see Steve [Amaral] bringing in fish and they figure it's all action for a fisherman like him, but they don't see him on all those days when he comes home with nothing, all those nights when he's working the beach and wondering why in the hell he's out there and not home watching TV in his recliner. "Nothing's easy in this business. You don't go to the beach and they jump up on the sand."
http://www.churbuck.com/wordpress/?p=2775
I own about six feet of bookshelf space devoted to fishing books. There's everything from how-to books such as Flounder Fishing and 99 Angling Tips from Lefty Kreh, to big important reference books like Fishes of the Gulf of Maine. In between are the few I pull down every few years and re-read; books like Dick Brown's authoritative book on bonefish, Thomas McGuane's 90 Degrees in the Shade, Peter Mathiessen's Men's Lives and the late Bob Post's Reading the Water, the original book about fishing on the Vineyard. Until now, Post's book has been the one to beat when tackling a subject as steeped in passion as the Derby, one of the oldest and most venerable fishing contests in the world.
It's not often that a Pulitzer-prize winning reporter (Philadelphia Inquirer) sets his mind to fishing, but David Kinney took the kind of trip most anglers dream about in the fall of 2007; he fished the entire Derby with a fishing rod in one hand and a notebook in the other. In the new tradition set by David DiBenedetto a few years back in On the Run, Kinney inserts himself in the story as the eager student sitting at the knee of the venerable experts. With a big dose of humility and another of humor, Kinney does a great job of explaining the history of the Derby, the culture of the off-season Vineyard (and the on-season celebrity soaked world of waterfront wealth), and the great stories that go with serious fishing. He has pulled off a few feats most angling scribes can't contemplate, most notably ingratiating himself into a closed secret society that makes the DaVinci Code look like a church bake sale. I can see why Dreamworks took the option on The Big One, there's enough skull-duggery, intrigue, charges of cheating and lying to drive a dozen plots.
Kinney written a keeper of a fishing book, no mean feat in a genre that tends to get breathless with clichés and pedantic with tips that never seem so smart in actual practice. And spare us from the fishing book that clutters the story with recipes (even, my late mentor John Hersey was recipe-guilty in his Vineyard fishing classic: Blues). This is just a solid story, a great one in parts, thanks to the fortuitous coincidence that Kinney was hanging around with Derby winner and all-around angling ace Lev Wlodyka during "Sinkergate" - the amazing incident where a cow of a striped bass weighed in by Wlodyka was found to contain a pound and half of lead sinkers.
"Instead he reaches all the way into the farthest recesses of the stomach, and as his hand comes out there is a clattering on the dfloor at his feet. It sounds exactly like change falling out of a pants pocket. Martha thinks it is a joke at first, like that time the guy cutting open a leaderboard fish dropped a wrench out of his sleeve as he fumbled around in the stomach. It takes her a moment to see that nobody's laughing. She looks at Lev and sees his face morph from shock to horror to embarrassment before he speaks.
"What the f#$k?"
"Inside Lev's fish-of-a-lifetime, D.J. has found a fistful of lead weights."
That's a scene just made for Hollywood, indeed, it brings to mind the scene in Jaws when they gut open a shark and out falls a Louisiana license plate.
Kinney infiltrated one of the most close-mouthed, evasive, secretive, mendacious, fraternal secret societies in the world - Martha's Vineyard fishing fanatics. Steve Amaral, Dick Hathaway, Whit Manter, Kib Bramhall, Nelson Bryant, Ed Jerome, Dave Skok, Chris Windram, Janet Messineo ... these are names familiar to saltwater fishing fanatics throughout the eastern seaboard, perhaps the world, and Kinney hitches a ride with them in the fall of 2007, accompanying them and others to the beaches, rips and inlets of the island in search of the Derby winner. Along the way he weaves in sixty-plus years of Derby history, island culture, and current drama. Read this book: if only for the description of the complex culture that exists on the jetties at Menemsha - a place I avoided during that same Derby in 2007, when I used my boat to free myself from the crowd that lives there for 838 hours every fall. There is no better way to greet the spring fishing season in New England than to read a good book that confirms why we stand in the water, up to our knees, hoping against hope and the need for sleep for something to happen out there, in the dark, under the water on the end of our lines.
I leave you with the part that hit home the closest:
"People see Steve [Amaral] bringing in fish and they figure it's all action for a fisherman like him, but they don't see him on all those days when he comes home with nothing, all those nights when he's working the beach and wondering why in the hell he's out there and not home watching TV in his recliner. "Nothing's easy in this business. You don't go to the beach and they jump up on the sand."
http://www.churbuck.com/wordpress/?p=2775
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Jason Antebi
Format:Hardcover
I am not a fan of fishing -- watching it or actually doing it. I read this book initially because of the Phil Hendrie Show interview and I couldn't put it down. Kinney is a great story teller and this is a great story. Fascinating and exciting, this book is not just for fishing enthusiasts but for anyone looking for a light, fun, engaging read.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By P. Moore
Format:Hardcover
I knew a couple of people in the book which was how I was turned on to the story. However, once I began reading the prologue I couldn't put it down. I'm not a fisherman whatsoever, nor was I a fishing fan... until now. The Big One is an awesome story that is very well written and great entertainment.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Couldn't put it down
David Kinney really grabbed the whole spirit and craziness of the MV Derby. I have fished it every year for the past 15 and this book was fantastic. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Optimistic Uncle
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great read
This is a great story and let's you learn a little about the history of this great island and tournament. Really easy to read and keeps your attention. Read more
Published on February 8, 2010 by Jaymbone
5.0 out of 5 stars
A real keeper!
The Big One is a fantastically written and exhaustive account of the annual Martha's Vineyard fishing derby. Read more
Published on December 26, 2009 by Anthony M. Frasca
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Big One: An Island, an Obsession, and the Furius Pursuit of a...
As an annual visitor to Martha's Vineyard I passed by this book in the Island bookstores this summer. There is a lot to do on MV and fishing isn't at the top of my list. Read more
Published on November 28, 2009 by Richard McInerney
5.0 out of 5 stars
Big Fan of The Big One
I just finished David Kinney's big blue book THE BIG ONE. I will admit I first picked it up because of its seemingly pornographic title, but the expert tale telling kept me... Read more
Published on August 8, 2009 by H. T. Roy
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Fish Tale
I just finished reading this book and loved it. It not only tells an interesting story with a colorful cast of characters, but more importantly, it very accurately describes a... Read more
Published on July 28, 2009 by David M. Barr
5.0 out of 5 stars
Journalist David Kinney's documentation of a month of his fishing...
Martha's Vineyard is a fine American destination not just for its celebrities and beaches but known for thousands of fishermen who flock there to compete in its annual Striped Bass... Read more
Published on June 17, 2009 by Midwest Book Review
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't Let This One Get Away!!
I just spent my most enjoyable, most relaxing holiday weekend in years reading The Big One from cover to cover. Read more
Published on May 26, 2009 by K. Ryan
5.0 out of 5 stars
A true fishing tale (maybe the first) more about characters than catch
It has been more than 20 years since I picked up a fishing pole, but I was immediately drawn to this engaging tale of the Martha's Vineyard Fishing Derby. Read more
Published on May 5, 2009 by C. Yunits
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great book-perfect summer beach read
A great page turner about the MV derby. It is very well researched and the text rings true. This may be this summer's "must read" book.
Published on April 27, 2009 by robert ruley
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