Shark Life: True Stories About Sharks & the Sea

Peter Benchley. You may have heard of him because he authored the extremely famous book Jaws, which was made so famous with help from the classic movie of the same name directed by Steven Spielberg, and produced by Richard Zanuck and David Brown. But I do not want to write about Steven Spielberg and the Jaws crew, or Peter Benchley in regards to his book Jaws.What I want to let you all know is how excellent his last book; Shark Life: True Stories about Sharks and the Sea really is.This non-fiction book is written so well, and moves at an appetite inducing pace you may feel like you are the shark. If you are even mildly interested in sharks, the ocean, diving, surfing or are just intrigued by things voracious this is the book for you. This is true to life tales of Mr. Benchley's happenings in the ocean of sharks. In cages and out of cages, in deep water and shallow, in rivers and within his memories.One of my favorite chapters is #7 titled Six Dangerous Sharks. In this chapter Peter goes on to name and describe the certain sharks and their characteristics, and then also with a real world examples. This is thrilling reading and I ate it up.A very important part of this book is that the overall tenure is not Jaws. That is, it is not about the monster from the deep sinking fishing boats, closing beaches, and disrupting economy. Some of the stories are very scary and heart pounding indeed, but this book is about real sharks, what they are, where they are; and how we as human beings relate to them in their environment, and more importantly how we can ensure they remain the alpha predators they need to be.And to the salient motions that we humans aspire, one of which is that we are the caretakers of all things because we are conscious. I found reading this book showed me that we are not. It made me (said) conscious of the fact that humans have their place. We have an impact yes, but we are merely a piece of the fleece. The perfection of humanity is willful change, we can make a difference because we want to. A shark does not want, a shark is, and its being is extremely different and perpetually thrilling.This is a great book and I highly recommend it.

This was not what I expected, but pleasantly surprised. Loved the flow of the book. Benchley is a great author.

This book was a riveting read, even though it's presented in a factual straightforward manner. The book did a good job of detailing what different types of sharks are dangerous ( as well as other sea creatures). Also the author gave detailed good description of what threats are faced due to overfishing and other issues facing our oceans wellbeing, which has only become considerably worse since the book was published.

Peter Benchley was remarkably astute about animals, and generous in his viewpoints. Following the popularity of Jaws (book and film) he recognized his own need to learn more about sharks. This book not only details that animal (without sensationalism), it also contains marvelous stories about other sea creatures--the story of a thankful and enormous manta ray is unforgettable. Benchley also gives precise advice about how to stay alive in any water, and his belief that most drownings could be avoided comes across in a way that makes him seem like one of your best friends.This is a fine book, and as with the best writing about animal nature, it contains good info for human nature too.

If you're a Peter Benchley fan, and haven't read Shark Trouble, then it's for you. Very interesting and informative information and stories. The references are also a good to read. However, it is essentially Shark Trouble without the pictures, and with one extra story.

Humans have this fear of sharks. We can't begin to imagine a world where we are part of the food chain. Sharks are amazing creatures and this book goes a long way into helping explain and understand them. I found it difficult to put down. The book arrived quickly after I ordered it and in excellent condition.

If you love sea life and great stories about dives and shark encounters you will also love this book.Peter Benchley had some great dives and some very close calls that its almost unbelievable!I really enjoyed this book would give it more then 5 stars if I could!

I love the book I couldn't put it down I just wish there was more books like this oh well

an interesting read