Shark: Stories of Life and Death from the World's Most Dangerous Waters (Adrenaline Series)

Rating:
Summary: This book is going back tomorrow...
Review: This will, to my knowledge, be the first book I have ever returned. My wife purchased it for me because she knows I am an avid diver, and enjoy reading marine-related books. Unfortunately, this book is the antithesis of "exciting." It starts out slowly, and somehow manages to slow even further as it progresses. There honestly are virtually no shark attacks to speak of.

You will be amazed how the authors are able to droll on and on about absolutely nothing. They describe a wave sixteen different ways, with forty-eight adjectives. To me, they should have placed a disclaimer in the preface, apologizing to readers for their intentional lengthening of the book via excessive descriptions of the most mundane aspects of any given situation. I was literally laughing at one point--it is that ridiculous.

This book even contains long poems about sharks (not my cup of tea, but to each his own). Also, if you believe in creation (and not evolution), you will be insulted (as I was) by the arrogance of this book. At every turn, the reader is told with ignorant certainty that we humans once crawled out of the sea, or that we are just like otters, or that a particular species evolved into something else 450 million years ago. It's totally unnecessary and irrelevant to the book content (does the book title not imply shark-attack adventure?), and really shows the insecurity the different authors have regarding the subject. I believe in divine creation, but again, that's me--you may be different, and thus not offended by this book.

In short, this book is poor any way you slice it.

Rating:
Summary: This book is going back tomorrow...
Review: This will, to my knowledge, be the first book I have ever returned. My wife purchased it for me because she knows I am an avid diver, and enjoy reading marine-related books. Unfortunately, this book is the antithesis of "exciting." It starts out slowly, and somehow manages to slow even further as it progresses. There honestly are virtually no shark attacks to speak of.

You will be amazed how the authors are able to droll on and on about absolutely nothing. They describe a wave sixteen different ways, with forty-eight adjectives. To me, they should have placed a disclaimer in the preface, apologizing to readers for their intentional lengthening of the book via excessive descriptions of the most mundane aspects of any given situation. I was literally laughing at one point--it is that ridiculous.

This book even contains long poems about sharks (not my cup of tea, but to each his own). Also, if you believe in creation (and not evolution), you will be insulted (as I was) by the arrogance of this book. At every turn, the reader is told with ignorant certainty that we humans once crawled out of the sea, or that we are just like otters, or that a particular species evolved into something else 450 million years ago. It's totally unnecessary and irrelevant to the book content (does the book title not imply shark-attack adventure?), and really shows the insecurity the different authors have regarding the subject. I believe in divine creation, but again, that's me--you may be different, and thus not offended by this book.

In short, this book is poor any way you slice it.

Rating:
Summary: A good and varied selection
Review: Written by those who fear them, those who study them and those who hunt them - May lets you see the shark from many perspectives. It would have been easy to just compile as many accounts of gristly attacks as possible, but May had taken a higher road. Rodney Fox explains how an attack victim forces himself back into the surf, the model for Jaws' shark-hunter Quint tells how he got into the business. The book is not just about sharks, but about the people who try to share their world. And of course, just to make sure you stay on the beach this summer, there are some dramatic accounts of attacks - not all of which were survivable. The selections are well-chosen and pretty much closed-ended so you don't feel cheated, although the excerpt of Caldwell's solo Pacific crossing may have you searching for the rest of his story. This is light and interesting reading - fast paced - perfect for summer.

Rating:
Summary: A good and varied selection
Review: Written by those who fear them, those who study them and those who hunt them - May lets you see the shark from many perspectives. It would have been easy to just compile as many accounts of gristly attacks as possible, but May had taken a higher road. Rodney Fox explains how an attack victim forces himself back into the surf, the model for Jaws' shark-hunter Quint tells how he got into the business. The book is not just about sharks, but about the people who try to share their world. And of course, just to make sure you stay on the beach this summer, there are some dramatic accounts of attacks - not all of which were survivable. The selections are well-chosen and pretty much closed-ended so you don't feel cheated, although the excerpt of Caldwell's solo Pacific crossing may have you searching for the rest of his story. This is light and interesting reading - fast paced - perfect for summer.