In Search of Monster Fish
Angling for a More Sustainable Planet
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- $39.99
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- $39.99
Publisher Description
In Search of Monster Fish is an action-packed, knee-slapping ride into and out of the belly of the beast. Join extreme angler Mark Spitzer as he encounters man-eating catfish, ruthless barracuda, lacerating conger eels, berserk tarpon, and blood-curdling sharks in locales as exotic as the Amazon, Catalonia, the Dominican Republic, Senegal, and even in our own backyards.
But this eco-odyssey isn’t just about meeting and releasing some of the most grotesque lunkers in the world. It’s about implementing solutions for problems as behemoth as global warming and issues as common as choosing what to eat for dinner. And as the ice caps melt at the rate of 1 percent annually, Spitzer battles his most epic goliath: a leviathan that dwells in the depths of us all, making us ask who the real monsters are, what our responsibilities truly are, and what we can possibly do to sustain our planet and ourselves when faced with such demonic disenlightenment. Spitzer then beats this whopper into submission by reframing his call to action and finding his own way. A new portal to the underworld has been opened in the cutting-edge literature of monster fish, and this is your entry ticket.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This exuberant chronicle from Spitzer (Beautifully Grotesque Fish of the American West), a University of Central Arkansas associate writing professor and avid fisherman, finds him following his interest in exotic fish in the Caribbean, Europe, and South America. The story begins as he visits the Amazon for the first time and goes in pursuit of "snakeheads" and piranha. The adventures roll on from there, with accompanying history lessons (Teddy Roosevelt helped popularize the, perhaps undeserved, fearsome reputation of piranha, which he called "the most ferocious fish in the world") as Spitzer travels to Catalonia in a quest for "ten-foot-long monster catfish" (the wels catfish), and chases barracuda in the Dominican Republic and monster carp in France. A blossoming relationship with Spitzer's travel companion, poet Lea to whom he becomes engaged provides a pleasant subplot. Spitzer also provides philosophical musings on threats facing the ecosystem and on humankind's challenge of living alongside other animals "conflict-free." It's the juxtaposition of Spitzer's thoughtful and adventurous sides that sets his book apart, making for a powerful mixture of entertaining wildlife jaunt and moving environmental advocacy.
