“A monstrous relative of the piranha, Hydrocynus goliath ('giant water dog') is without doubt the most horrifying freshwater fish in the world. … Whatever unconscious nostalgia we may feel for our prehuman life in the water - in many ways an element more benign than the harsh air - one look at this apparatus makes us grateful that our ancestors got out when they did.” Jeremy Wade, Somewhere down the Crazy River, 1992

River Monsters: true stories of the ones that didn't get away is now available in PAPERBACK in the US/Canada. (272 pages, 16 pages of color photos, published by Da Capo Press) price $16/18.50. Also available as a recorded book.

River Monsters: a tale of obsession, adventure, and very big fish
(hardback, 336 pages, 33 colour photos and 22 b/w woodcut prints, published by Swordfish/Orion) is available in the UK, price £18.99. (Also available in Australia and South Africa.)

Called "the greatest angling explorer of his generation," (Independent on Sunday) Jeremy Wade, host of Animal Planet’s wildly popular TV series River Monsters, takes viewers where no wildlife program has gone before, revealing the creatures that lurk in the murky depths of our planet’s inland waterways. Now, Wade goes truly beneath the surface, disclosing full details of how he tracks down and catches each species while also recounting the off-camera highlights of his extraordinary life. From his arrest as a suspected spy in Southeast Asia to a plane crash in the Amazon, every page of River Monsters is packed with adventure. Each chapter unfolds an enthralling detective story, where fishermen’s tales of underwater man-eaters and aquatic killers are subjected to scientific scrutiny. Follow Wade step-by-step as, armed with just a fishing line, he closes in on his prey and separates fact from fiction. From the heart of the Congo, where he wrestles with supernatural goliath tigerfish, to the depths of the Amazon, where the most feared creature is one that could fit in your palm, the results are fish of staggering proportions and terrifying demeanor.

In the tradition of the most gripping adventure writing, River Monsters shows that there’s more to this world than what’s visible on the surface. As Wade says, with a fishing line anything is possible – sometimes it can even reveal the future, or at least one possible version of it. In similar fashion, Wade’s writings are much more than exhilarating stories: they reveal a vision of the world more awe-inspiring than any individual myth made flesh. Ultimately, River Monsters explores the real mysteries that still exist, capturing the story of one man’s obsession – and his relentless pursuit of the truth.

Jeremy Wade, host of Animal Planet’s smash hit River Monsters, has spent a lifetime in search of legendary creatures. Now, go with Wade beneath the depths, into the world where monsters really do exist – and discover what it takes to find and capture them.

Casting a line into the water is like asking a question. Something could be right underneath you, but you can’t see it – it’s there but not there. And sometimes only a line will make it real, despite the odds against this happening being very long. After hanging limp and lifeless – maybe for hours or days or weeks or years – it will twitch and run, and the cane or carbon-fiber in your hands will bend like a divining rod. Then, if your gear and nerves are sound, you will bring something out into the light, seemingly from nowhere, from another dimension. When this happens, it has an element of magic to it, like pulling a rabbit from a hat.

This book is a series of such investigations into the murky world of fishermen’s tales. The tales are of river monsters that are frighteningly large or dangerous – or both. Fish that swallow men whole, others that eat them from within, and others that pack a killer punch. And the truth, though elusive and sometimes complex, is often every bit as unbelievable as the myth. (from River Monsters)

Somewhere down the Crazy River (1992, with Paul Boote)

Widely held to be one of the classics of angling literature, this book recounts the rediscovery of the Indian mahseer and the goliath tigerfish of the Congo. Both the original hardback edition and the 1994 Coronet paperback (shown right, published by Hodder & Stoughton) are out of print, but second-hand copies can be found occasionally.