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A review by wynter
Close to Shore: The Terrifying Shark Attacks of 1916 by Michael Capuzzo
4.0
HAPPY SHARK WEEK!
In celebration of the most wonderful week of the year I usually pledge to read at least one shark-themed book. Here's the book I chose for 2016. I've actually been meaning to read Close to the Shore for years now, so better late than never. The events of 1916 shark attacks at the New Jorsey shoreline apparently inspired Peter Benchley's famous [b:Jaws|126232|Jaws|Peter Benchley|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327958767s/126232.jpg|2318370] and the subsequent movie, and I can see how. There numerous parallels: the dependent on summer tourism seaside towns, the open beaches, the unbelieving scientists, the tragic attack on a little boy that sent everyone into a frenzy, and of course the manly "salty dog" who kills the man-eater mano a mano.
Close to the Shore is a rather straightforward account of the attacks, and Capuzzo barely offers his own conclusions. I think the book needed a bit of an opinionated conservationist angle. The panic that gripped the population resulted in dozens of sharks being hunted down and killed off, even if they didn't belong to the great white or bull shark varieties that were suspected of attacking humans. Man is indeed the most dangerous animal on earth. Save the sharks, people, and in the meantime I'm off to watch The Shallows.
In celebration of the most wonderful week of the year I usually pledge to read at least one shark-themed book. Here's the book I chose for 2016. I've actually been meaning to read Close to the Shore for years now, so better late than never. The events of 1916 shark attacks at the New Jorsey shoreline apparently inspired Peter Benchley's famous [b:Jaws|126232|Jaws|Peter Benchley|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327958767s/126232.jpg|2318370] and the subsequent movie, and I can see how. There numerous parallels: the dependent on summer tourism seaside towns, the open beaches, the unbelieving scientists, the tragic attack on a little boy that sent everyone into a frenzy, and of course the manly "salty dog" who kills the man-eater mano a mano.
Close to the Shore is a rather straightforward account of the attacks, and Capuzzo barely offers his own conclusions. I think the book needed a bit of an opinionated conservationist angle. The panic that gripped the population resulted in dozens of sharks being hunted down and killed off, even if they didn't belong to the great white or bull shark varieties that were suspected of attacking humans. Man is indeed the most dangerous animal on earth. Save the sharks, people, and in the meantime I'm off to watch The Shallows.