Blake Chavez

The exclusive, authorized biography of the late Deadliest Catch star, written by his two sons: "outrageous tales of a man who lived without restraint, like a modern-day mythical figure" (Publishers Weekly, starred review). The electrifying behind-the-scenes story of the Deadliest Catch star, from his own two sons Prior to his untimely death in 2010, Captain Phil Harris was the larger-than-life star of the Discovery Channel's hit show Deadliest Catch. An ace Alaskan crab fisherman, he led his crew through hurricane-force winds and four-story-high waves, hauling in millions of pounds of crab and raking in millions of dollars. Phil worked hard, but he played even harder. With his thunderous motorcycles, tempestuous marriages, and drug-fueled parties, his life on shore could have served as a reality show in itself. But as wild as Phil could be, he was a loving father, a devoted friend, a steadfast captain, and a hero to audiences around the world. This is his story, as fascinating and outrageous off camera as it was onscreen.

The story of boxing legend Jerry Quarry has it all: rags to riches, thrilling fights against the giants of the Golden Age of Heavyweights (Ali—twice, Frazier—twice, Patterson, Norton), a racially and politically electric sports era, the thrills and excesses of fame, celebrities, love, hate, joy, and pain. And tragedy.Like the man he fought during two highly controversial fight cards in 1970 and ’72—Muhammad Ali—boxing great Jerry Quarry was to suffer gravely. He died at age fifty-three, mind and body ravaged by Dementia Pugilistica.In Hard Luck, “Irish” Jerry Quarry comes to life—from his Grapes of Wrath days as the child of an abusive father in the California migrant camps to those as the undersized heavyweight slaying giants on his way to multiple title bouts and the honor of being the World’s Most Popular Fighter in ’68, ’69, ’70, and ’71. The story of Jerry Quarry is one of the richest in the annals of boxing, and through painstaking research and exclusive access to the Quarry family and its archives, Steve Springer and Blake Chavez have captured it all.