NAALEHU, Hawaii, Aug. 15, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- From isolated incidents on the ocean to the big screen summer blockbusters, sharks have established themselves as one of the most mysterious and unpredictable enigmas of our age. For many people, it is highly natural to fear sharks and avoid swimming alone in salt water. While most people preferred to stay safe, Mundus the shark hunter braved the seas, hunting the largest and most fearsome predators he could find. But what was it really like to hunt sharks for a living? Discover the truth, by diving deep into the life and times of Frank Mundus in his autobiography Fifty Years A Hooker.
Jointly written with his wife, Jeanette, Fifty Years A Hooker tells the long and exciting life story of Frank Mundus, who has hunted sharks for decades and surprisingly today he's now working to preserve sharks. The book not only looks at his profession but also at his personality -- his unusual childhood, his comic misadventures, his family, and his art of growing pineapples. Photographs in the book provide visual clarity to readers.
Readers will be amazed to learn about the numerous events Frank Mundus experienced during his fifty years of fishing, such as the day he caught his first shark; his personal experience of The Pelican Disaster of 1951; the time he developed his trademark "idiot magnet," and the day he successfully caught a 4,500 pound great white shark in 1964. Fans of the movie and novel Jaws will be very delighted to learn about the strong influences Mundus' successful shark hunting had on author Peter Benchley. In some ways, Mundus gave birth to Hollywood's lucrative summer movie seasons through his work.
With a careful blend of interesting real-life stories, photographs, history, and personalities, Fifty Years A Hooker will attract a wide range of readers from students, professors, fishermen, historians, lawyers, and more. Frank and Jeanette wrote the book to give people a very detailed look at shark hunting as well as to educate them about the real-life inspiration for Peter Benchley's shark hunter "Quint." Fifty Years A Hooker is a very important book that readers should not miss.
About the Author
Frank Mundus' background was the unacknowledged inspiration for Peter Benchley's shark hunter "Quint" in the book and movie Jaws. Mundus spent over fifty years catching sharks off Montauk Point, Long Island, New York. He pioneered the sport of shark fishing in 1951. Mundus has co-authored two other books: Sportfishing for Sharks (Macmillan, 1971) with Bill Wisner and Monster Man (Cricket II, 1976) with Robert Boggs. In 2005 Mundus will appear in a Discovery Channel one-hour biographical special for Shark Week.
As for Jeanette Mundus, Fifty Years A Hooker is a collaborative and loving effort with her husband, Frank, on his autobiography.
Fifty Years A Hooker by Frank and Jeanette Mundus
Publication Date: June 27, 2005
Trade Paperback; $24.99; 440 pages; 1-4134-8428-X
Cloth Hardback; $34.99; 440 pages; 1-4134-8429-8
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