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ellipsiscool's review against another edition
3.0
Great white sharks are awesome . . . and terrifying. They bite the heads off of elephant seals and then frolic in the fountain of blood.
They've also been evolving 100 times longer than we have so their bodies are perfectly suited to what they do and they are bad ass. They're like biker gangs of the ocean world except instead of tattoos they are marked with scars all over their bodies. Their prey is huge (Except for orcas, who team up and eat great white sharks for breakfast). They don't seem to really want to eat humans. They prefer bigger, blubbery-er animals.
What we know about them is pretty slim. Susan Casey describes a research team that dedicated fifteen years to studying great whites off the coast of California in the "red triangle." She describes living in near isolation, watching elephant seals get decapitated, boats escaping during huge storms, and surprisingly little about the terrifying, but awesome great white shark.
"Voices from the Ocean" about dolphins is a better book with a lot more history, science, and insight into dolphins. Granted dolphins are much easier to get close to and interact with and there are more dolphin studies going on world wide.
I hope the shark research goes on and in the future I get to read a brilliant expose on what makes a shark tick. This was not that book, but it was a start and it did pique my interest.
They've also been evolving 100 times longer than we have so their bodies are perfectly suited to what they do and they are bad ass. They're like biker gangs of the ocean world except instead of tattoos they are marked with scars all over their bodies. Their prey is huge (Except for orcas, who team up and eat great white sharks for breakfast). They don't seem to really want to eat humans. They prefer bigger, blubbery-er animals.
What we know about them is pretty slim. Susan Casey describes a research team that dedicated fifteen years to studying great whites off the coast of California in the "red triangle." She describes living in near isolation, watching elephant seals get decapitated, boats escaping during huge storms, and surprisingly little about the terrifying, but awesome great white shark.
"Voices from the Ocean" about dolphins is a better book with a lot more history, science, and insight into dolphins. Granted dolphins are much easier to get close to and interact with and there are more dolphin studies going on world wide.
I hope the shark research goes on and in the future I get to read a brilliant expose on what makes a shark tick. This was not that book, but it was a start and it did pique my interest.
trin's review against another edition
5.0
A pretty perfect example of narrative nonfiction: exciting, informative, and full of great characters, human and shark alike. Casey makes sharks weirdly lovable -- or makes you think sharks actually just are weirdly lovable. (Gulls, however, are assholes.)
The ending is shocking and tragic; Casey's exploration of obsession is not without consequences. This is a fascinating and eye-opening book.
The ending is shocking and tragic; Casey's exploration of obsession is not without consequences. This is a fascinating and eye-opening book.
jbabiarz's review against another edition
4.0
I wish I had learned a bit more about great white sharks... but this was still an entertaining book. Though I think I liked her other book, "The Wave" a little better.
tiki801's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
chelsea2020's review against another edition
4.0
Susan Casey's book "Devil's Teeth" gives much details as to the history of the infamous Farallon Islands. She tells of the many hardships it has endured throughout it's many years of existence, as well as some major win's that it has been privileged to know.
Making its first appearance in the late 1800s, the Farallon Islands have seen the world at its worst and survived to become a strong area of the world. In all it's years, the Farallon Islands, often referred to as the Devil's Teeth, has been greatly feared and revered by many who have heard of the stories it harbors in the water surrounding the Islands.
Casey's "Devil's Teeth" is very well written, with nothing but the facts and not too much emotional interference. If you have a strong love, or even a mild interest, in marine life, then this book would be highly recommended.
Making its first appearance in the late 1800s, the Farallon Islands have seen the world at its worst and survived to become a strong area of the world. In all it's years, the Farallon Islands, often referred to as the Devil's Teeth, has been greatly feared and revered by many who have heard of the stories it harbors in the water surrounding the Islands.
Casey's "Devil's Teeth" is very well written, with nothing but the facts and not too much emotional interference. If you have a strong love, or even a mild interest, in marine life, then this book would be highly recommended.
missyreads's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting memoir about a scientist’s time studying great white sharks at a remote island
libraryam's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting memoir but I didn't learn as much as I'd hoped about sharks. Most likely because the world has moved on from publication date.
book_concierge's review against another edition
3.0
A fascinating account of the Farallon Islands and the author's obsession with studying (or just seeing) the large sharks that frequent the waters around there. I think she was somewhat naive; but I probably would have done the same thing.
coleycole's review against another edition
3.0
I both loved and hated this book! The Farallones are an a set of craggy, treacherous islands thirty-five miles away from San Francisco. While they're inhospitable to humans, the islands are home to an amazingly diverse array of sea birds, seals, sea lions, whales, jelly fish, and, at the right time of year, great white sharks. Throughout the first half of the book, my mind was blown as often by the sharks and the fascinating research being done on them as it was by the human history (egg wars, nuclear waste, and lots of money-making schemes ending in death) surrounding the islands. I'm not a big reader of science or nonfiction, but I found the first part fascinating.
The second part of the book ticked me off. Throughout the book, Casey looked down on the tourists who would attempt to visit the islands (and be thwarted by the rocks, the sea, and pretty much everything) in hopes of seeing great whites; she was not so different from them. The author, Susan Casey, visited the Farallones three times. In her last visit, she manages to lose two boats and, as a result, get the shark researcher, who went out of his way to help her see the island, the sharks, etc., fired. She would often laud the researchers' "competence," but she never really clued into the fact that being in a severe place like that requires competence, which she didn't seem to put too much effort into acquiring. Tourism is experience without effort (or something, I can't remember who told me that) and that sounds like what Casey really wanted (though she wanted a more extreme, elite version of it). She expresses some regret, but her experience gave her the opportunity to give a first hand account of what it means to eff-up big time, and how you deal with the fallout, which she totally passed up. She could have used her obvious clout (she's a well-established journalist) to try and help the shark research. Instead of doing something for the greater good, she did something that was essentially for herself, and ended up bringing the whole operation down.
The second part of the book ticked me off. Throughout the book, Casey looked down on the tourists who would attempt to visit the islands (and be thwarted by the rocks, the sea, and pretty much everything) in hopes of seeing great whites; she was not so different from them. The author, Susan Casey, visited the Farallones three times. In her last visit, she manages to lose two boats and, as a result, get the shark researcher, who went out of his way to help her see the island, the sharks, etc., fired. She would often laud the researchers' "competence," but she never really clued into the fact that being in a severe place like that requires competence, which she didn't seem to put too much effort into acquiring. Tourism is experience without effort (or something, I can't remember who told me that) and that sounds like what Casey really wanted (though she wanted a more extreme, elite version of it). She expresses some regret, but her experience gave her the opportunity to give a first hand account of what it means to eff-up big time, and how you deal with the fallout, which she totally passed up. She could have used her obvious clout (she's a well-established journalist) to try and help the shark research. Instead of doing something for the greater good, she did something that was essentially for herself, and ended up bringing the whole operation down.
rallly's review against another edition
5.0
This was a perfect book I can’t stop thinking about sharks