Lunch With Books: The Book of Quint with Ryan Dacko

June 18, 2024
12:00pm - 1:00pm

“1100 men went into the water…” So begins the haunting monologue by actor Robert Shaw as grizzled shark hunter Quint in the movie “Jaws,” in which he describes his experience as a survivor of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis in the dying days of the Second World War. The sinking left hundreds of crew members floating in the ocean. Most died from exposure and the worst mass shark attack in recorded history. As we approach the fiftieth anniversary of the “Jaws” movie, host of the podcast “The Jaw Obsession,” Ryan Dacko has written the definitive prequel to the Jaws novel, telling the back story of Quint. Beginning with him adrift after the sinking, and following him first to San Francisco and then to Amity Island, we read of how and when he acquires his many scars, of how he comes to own his boat “The Orca,” and how he develops his technique for hunting sharks. Dacko is a US Coast Guard veteran, licensed underwater welder, and professional commercial deep-sea diver. He last visited our state in 2012 when he worked on a massive wind storm that took down power lines. “I loved the state and always wanted to go back,” he said. “This is a great opportunity.”