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burnourhistory's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
For a 'short' book, this read for longer than I imagined it would. I am usually lukewarm about the integration of a narrative style in non-fiction because the break between story and information is usually evident. It was less so the case in this book and I liked the story for the most part. The organization of the information lacked continuity at several points but it the majority of the book was well lineated. Overall, the book lacked something for me but it is hard to point at a specific.
For a 'short' book, this read for longer than I imagined it would. I am usually lukewarm about the integration of a narrative style in non-fiction because the break between story and information is usually evident. It was less so the case in this book and I liked the story for the most part. The organization of the information lacked continuity at several points but it the majority of the book was well lineated. Overall, the book lacked something for me but it is hard to point at a specific.
teaxmillions's review against another edition
5.0
I saw this book as I was scanning over my school's library towards the end of the school year last year, and I was immediately intrigued by the cover (which I love, by the way). I find sharks and ships and most anything about the ocean interesting, so I immediately wanted to read it. However, the end of the school year was approaching so I tucked this book away in my "to-read" pile and waited.
The school year has started up again and this was my first pick that I knew I wanted to read when I was drifting through the bookshelves.
The way this book was written had me constantly engaged in the material, which doesn't often happen when I read non-fiction books. Often I find myself drifting into daydreams. Not so with this book. It was filled with the action of shark attacks and interesting descriptions of how life was like at the time and what a frenzy the shark put in the human race after attacking people.
I don't think I've ever "oh-no'd" so much during a book than in this one in my entire life. I'd get the feeling that this person that the author had been describing was going to die (and I was usually right) and I'd just whisper "oh no" to myself and continue reading. The deaths were made even worse because I knew that they were real events that happened. It really brought home how terrible the idea of death by an animal attack really is, when there's barely anything there to bring home to the distraught family.
Honestly, I think this book is a good choice if you ever just want to read about interesting aspects of history, because this is definitely one of them.
The school year has started up again and this was my first pick that I knew I wanted to read when I was drifting through the bookshelves.
The way this book was written had me constantly engaged in the material, which doesn't often happen when I read non-fiction books. Often I find myself drifting into daydreams. Not so with this book. It was filled with the action of shark attacks and interesting descriptions of how life was like at the time and what a frenzy the shark put in the human race after attacking people.
I don't think I've ever "oh-no'd" so much during a book than in this one in my entire life. I'd get the feeling that this person that the author had been describing was going to die (and I was usually right) and I'd just whisper "oh no" to myself and continue reading. The deaths were made even worse because I knew that they were real events that happened. It really brought home how terrible the idea of death by an animal attack really is, when there's barely anything there to bring home to the distraught family.
Honestly, I think this book is a good choice if you ever just want to read about interesting aspects of history, because this is definitely one of them.
crowyhead's review
4.0
A fascinating study of a series of shark attacks that occurred off the Jersey Shore in 1916. There's enough action and tension in this narrative to satisfy fans of "Jaws," but Capuzzo's book is almost more interesting for his thorough description of the social mores of the time -- swimming and sunbathing on beaches was quite a new fad. I also found it interesting because of the location; one of the victims lived in a house in Philadelphia not four blocks from where I live now. My only wish is that there had been pictures included in the text; several times he mentions newspaper photos and such that it would have been nice to have reproduced in the book.
thehodgenator's review against another edition
3.0
I would rate this 3.5
There was a lot of interesting history, and as I read I could definitely see the inspiration behind 'Jaws,' but there was a lot of historical background on families of the victims that I found to be unnecessary. It slowed down the story more than moved it forward.
There was a lot of interesting history, and as I read I could definitely see the inspiration behind 'Jaws,' but there was a lot of historical background on families of the victims that I found to be unnecessary. It slowed down the story more than moved it forward.
lah_reads's review against another edition
3.0
The subject matter of this book was interesting, but I found the writing a bit dry and grew frustrated with the way the author hopped timelines to ramble about the 1800s or the 1950s before returning to the period the book was supposed to be focused on. It was very distracting from the account of the 1916 shark attacks that was the main focus of the book. There was also a tendancy to introduce a new person by giving their full history up to 1916 along with their future endeavors (essentially, a brief account of their entire life story), sometimes spending several pages to describe who they were, often only to have them appear just once or twice throughout the book. I did enjoy some portions of the book, and especially appreciated the sections that described the behaviors of sharks and why the experts believe they do the things they do, but I was over all a bit disappointed that this one didn't have the level of excitement that I was expecting.
lastminute's review against another edition
3.0
I actually never finished this book; I ended up skimming it. Partly this was I ran out of time before I had to turn it in, but not entirely. There was a lot of non-shark description going on in this book; a review I read somewhere else (can't remember where, curses) said this book offers a better glimpse of life in America at the beginning of the 20th century than it does of the shark attacks and I think that's true. I was really hoping for more of a thriller type book, so I kept getting bogged down in the description of individuals' lives and how society operated at the time. Or maybe I'm just spoiled by fiction books like Meg.
librarianonparade's review against another edition
4.0
I zipped through this in less than a day, I couldn't put it down - which I guess is the mark of a good book. It's about the 1916 shark attacks off the coast of New Jersey that gripped the entire United States and were the inspiration for Peter Benchley's Jaws. It starts quite slowly, more than a quarter of the book goes by before the first attack, but it's very good at 'setting the scene', so to speak. The actual exploration of the attacks is very well-written, dramatic and graphic, but it works just as well describing the America of the time, a society teetering on the brink between the old Edwardian Gilded Age and the new modern age. It does very well trying to explore why the shark came so close to shore, seventeen miles inland up tidal creeks at one point, what was prompting the attacks on humans and how the scientific community's disbelief that sharks were dangerous exacerbated the danger.
samirakatherine's review against another edition
3.0
I listened to 4 CDs of this on my way North for the break and the last CD today, coming home. I am endlessly entertained by popular history. Popular historians make all sorts of claims that you just can't quite substantiate!
That said, I chose this book because it was 1 of 3 books on CD available at the local used bookstore and it was far more interesting than I would have assumed a book about a killer shark was going to be.
That said, I chose this book because it was 1 of 3 books on CD available at the local used bookstore and it was far more interesting than I would have assumed a book about a killer shark was going to be.
melissakeymer's review against another edition
1.0
To be honest, DNF. Save yourself the time and read the wikipedia article instead
Unless you want to know every single detail from 1916. It's pretty much all filler.
Unless you want to know every single detail from 1916. It's pretty much all filler.
hinniger's review against another edition
3.0
I'm a lover of nonfiction, so most get at least a 3/5 which I know is ridiculously crazy! However, when you throw in a story of a great white shark attack to an already fearsome ocean goer, the ranking is justified, and I'm pretty sure I'll never step into an ocean again after this one! The attacks of 1916 were ones I had never heard about, but wow, what an amazing compilation by Capuzzo to depict the events during that time! It was a little slow getting into as usual, but truly kept my interest after a while!