In The Slick Of the Cricket

Who can forget the scene in Jaws when Quint, the weathered, steely-eyed captain scrapes his fingernails down the blackboard and announces to the quibbling town elders that they're dealing with a great white shahk? In all his hard-nosed glory, Quint might seem like a creation of Hollywood, but in fact he was based on a real fishing captain out of Montauk, Long Island--Frank Mundus, captain of the Cricket II. Mundus never got his due from the movie or from Peter Benchley, the author of the novel Jaws, and that irks him. Russell Drumm, a Montauk reporter, quickly learns this and a lot more during an adventure at sea with the famous shark hunter. Also aboard is the single charter, a big-game fisherman from Hawaii who has yet to grapple with the ultimate trophy: a great white shark. In the five days that follow, the three are tossed by storms during their pursuit of what has been called nature's perfect killing machine, and Mundus relives for the reporter his 40 years on the high seas. In the Slick of the Cricket is an engaging portrait of a driven man and his unusual occupation.