Scan barcode
A review by coreyinscoe
Close to Shore: The Terrifying Shark Attacks of 1916 by Michael Capuzzo
4.0
It's hard to beat good narrative nonfiction.
"Close to Shore" chronicles a number of shark attacks along the New Jersey coast in 1916, presumably all made by the same shark. The shark attacks were the first to get such media attention and also inspired "Jaws."
Capuzzo tells about the shark attack but also describes the way people thought of the ocean at the time. New bathing suits that showed more skin were risque, swimming in the ocean was a test of manliness and people didn't think sharks attacked humans. They thought they were big fish that didn't want to deal with humans. The "man-eating shark" was a myth to them.
This changed everything.
Capuzzo's story is based on a ton of research and talking with shark experts. I don't think it's possibly to definitively prove that this one shark did all of the attacks, but, based on the evidence, Capuzzo seems to believe it did, as do his experts.
The story is well written and reads like a thriller novel, tracking the shark along the coast and telling the stories of the people that encountered it.
"Close to Shore" chronicles a number of shark attacks along the New Jersey coast in 1916, presumably all made by the same shark. The shark attacks were the first to get such media attention and also inspired "Jaws."
Capuzzo tells about the shark attack but also describes the way people thought of the ocean at the time. New bathing suits that showed more skin were risque, swimming in the ocean was a test of manliness and people didn't think sharks attacked humans. They thought they were big fish that didn't want to deal with humans. The "man-eating shark" was a myth to them.
This changed everything.
Capuzzo's story is based on a ton of research and talking with shark experts. I don't think it's possibly to definitively prove that this one shark did all of the attacks, but, based on the evidence, Capuzzo seems to believe it did, as do his experts.
The story is well written and reads like a thriller novel, tracking the shark along the coast and telling the stories of the people that encountered it.