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A review by jacqueshol
Close to Shore: The Terrifying Shark Attacks of 1916 by Michael Capuzzo
4.0
I enjoyed this book as it described the terrible events of the 1916 New Jersey shark attacks. It is similar to Black December experienced here in South Africa in 1957 when sharks attacked nine people in a localised area over a period of a few weeks. Six of those attacks were fatal.
I particularly enjoyed how the author described the culture and events shortly after the start of the 20th century. I realised that it is scarily similar to what we are experiencing here at the start of the 21st venture. There was major upheaval back then with great technological changes, for example, the horseless chariot (cars), aeroplanes had barely been flying a decade, and electricity started making inroads into hotels for lighting, etc. Does it sound familiar with today's technology? But wait, it gets better. We just survived a major pandemic, but the world was battling polio back then. Today there is a war between Russia and Ukraine, and rumours about China invading Taiwan are not subsiding. Back in 1916, the world was at war with itself (WW1). It is indeed scarily similar.
Back to the book. The storytelling was done well, but at times it seemed to slow down and then speed up again. The pace was all over the place. The story would also jump at times. Therefore, the four stars. I highly recommend that readers watch the movie 12 Days of Terror (2015), which dramatises these events. It is not nearly as scary as Jaws, but a very good and faithful rendition of actual events. I most certainly will recommend the book.
I particularly enjoyed how the author described the culture and events shortly after the start of the 20th century. I realised that it is scarily similar to what we are experiencing here at the start of the 21st venture. There was major upheaval back then with great technological changes, for example, the horseless chariot (cars), aeroplanes had barely been flying a decade, and electricity started making inroads into hotels for lighting, etc. Does it sound familiar with today's technology? But wait, it gets better. We just survived a major pandemic, but the world was battling polio back then. Today there is a war between Russia and Ukraine, and rumours about China invading Taiwan are not subsiding. Back in 1916, the world was at war with itself (WW1). It is indeed scarily similar.
Back to the book. The storytelling was done well, but at times it seemed to slow down and then speed up again. The pace was all over the place. The story would also jump at times. Therefore, the four stars. I highly recommend that readers watch the movie 12 Days of Terror (2015), which dramatises these events. It is not nearly as scary as Jaws, but a very good and faithful rendition of actual events. I most certainly will recommend the book.