The Stingray: Lethal Tactics of the Sole Survivor: The Inside Story of How the Castaways Were Controlled on the Island and Beyond

by Peter Lance

The Stingray is the first book of investigative journalism to take a critical look at Survivor, the most successful summer T.V. series in history. Five-time Emmy-winning investigative reporter Peter... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1885840039
• ISBN13: 9781885840035
• Release Date: December 2000
• Publisher: Cinema 21 Books
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

I could not put this book down! 5/5

I could not put this book down! 5/5"The Stingray" should be called "The Bible of Survivor Hopefuls". A great read! The book explains not only behind the scenes details of SURVIVOR, that CBS is trying by all possible means so hard to hide, but also what can happen, good and bad, to individuals (mostly Richard Hatch but also Dirk, Stacey and to a lesser extent Sean and Kelly) placed "within the game". He uses Richard's life experiences in getting a greater depth of understanding of how and why Hatch acted as he did. Due to CBS's highly restrictive gag orders on all the contestants most of Lance's information is otherwise NOT AVAILABLE ANYWHERE ELSE.I think that Lance is doing a great service to the public by bringing up his strong points about the producer's program manipulations and CBS's severely restrictive contracts. If the networks take a serious look at making their programs fairer or at lessening the lifelong legal stranglehold on participants then 90% of the credit for this change must go to Lance for being the first to expose the problems. What was previously thought of as "Lance's conspiracy theory" in certain circles is now coming to light with the David vs. Goliath lawsuit of Stacey Stillman. Hopefully the details of the depths of network manipulation of the contestants will not be hidden from the public by an out of court settlement by a frightened CBS. Hopefully the case will go to trial and under oath make the truth public. Lance will no doubt be there to tell us about it as it develops.My only criticisms are that with Lance having referenced the restrictiveness of the ability of the contestants (or anyone such as production crew, for that matter) to speak with him I would have liked more details and analyses of the various contracts the contestants are required to sign as well as how they compare with SAG and AFTRA contracts. We heard of offers that certain contestants were unable to accept but I am interested in more details of those that they accepted. I expect that this was due to the fact that his book was rushed to press and all information was not yet available to him. Also, Lance references Burnett's book on more than one occasion. Having read that book first it made certain aspects easier to understand that Lance could have covered in more detail. I truly hope that Lance continues his digging, his investigation and follows up this book with a second book which would outline and explain all the specific documents that CBS requires the contestants to sign and follow through by looking at all the contestants to see if/how their SURVIVOR I and II experience positively/negatively affected their lives one-two years down the road. All current lawsuit information should be updated and explained in layman's terms. The SURVIVOR phenomenon is a social experiment in action and should be followed up as things develop. Lance is in the perfect position to do this.If anyone is considering applying for SURVIVOR this book is

Most substantive and interesting Survivor book

Richard Hatch's book 101 Survival Secrets was transparent and empty. Mark Burnett's Survivor: The Ultimate Game was a boring rehash. Stingray, although filled with some distracting typos (probably from having to write the book in 3-4 weeks), and a narrative style that is more fitting for a movie script (which I guess is what he does for a living now) is the best Survivor book on the market.Lance's findings have since been covered so thoroughly by the news media, especially since Stacey Stillman's lawsuit, that it was a bit anticlimatic, but I don't think this is a story that would have ever been told were it not for Lance's decision to tell the truth about a manipulative man, a greedy network, and producers that pushed the boundaries of objectivity in the hottest gameshow on TV.

THE SURVIVOR BOOK OF ALL SURVIVOR BOOKS

I was a total fan of Survivor I and I can unequivocally say that NOBODY has written a book about this series as good as THE STINGRAY, Lethal Tactics of The Sole Survivor by Peter Lance. Not Richard Hatch or even Mark Burnett. Lance, who's an investigative reporter who once worked for ABC News is the only one to step back and take any kind of honest objective look at this media phenomenon called "reality" TV. For the few people alive who DIDN'T see SRUVIVOR I it's a great play by play. For those devoted fans of the series like me, there are dozens of inside, behind the scenes scraps of info, like how the producers chose Sean and Jenna as the ambassadors over Kelly and Greg and how Stacey tried to organize the castaways in a summer "alliance" to boycott the Finale reunion show, only to have Richard Hatch break the "alliance" and run back to CBS with word. This resulted in everybody doing the show for $10,000 even though CBS got something like $12 million. What's really interesting is that on Lance's website www. thestingray.net, he's got a source working on the crew of SURVIVOR II. I also see on his website that he is signing his book all over the United States. I'm hoping that Peter Lance writes a book about SURVIVOR II because if it's anything like THE STINGRAY it's sure to be a non stop page turning read.

Will the true Dickie Hatch please step forward...

The pinnacle of Survivor books! If you want to read a book that will not allow you to put it down, this is the one. The author, Mr. Peter Lance, has packed this one from cover to cover with everything that you would want to know about Survivor, the cast (especially Richard), and the corporate noose around all of their necks as they continue to stand on the CBS scaffold. Take my word on this, it is one of the most enjoyable books that you will ever come across.

This is the best of the three Survivor Books

This is a very entertaining book. It features much more personal information about Richard Hatch than his book does. It offers a blunt look at both Hatch's life and the antics of CBS and Survivor producer Mark Burnett. This book is a must for both Survivor lovers and haters. For those who hate Hatch, there is enough information to keep you happy, but also some stuff about the sad parts of Hatch's life that should have even the biggest haters of the man feeling sympathetic toward him. The best part of the book tells of possibly tampering of the outcome of the show by Mark Burnett and also of the control of the contestents that CBS has. The cartoons at the beginning of each chapter are very good and add to the enjoyment of the book.