Customer Reviews (4) 
A CLASSIC ANTHOLOGY OF SHARK STORIES
This marvelous book has 42 stories reprinted by some of the greatest authors and scientists of all time from Ernest Hemingway and Peter
Matthiessen to Arthur C. Clarke, Peter Benchley & Thor Heyerdahl...scientists like Dr. Eugenie Clark, William Beebe and Perry Gilbert
are all contributors.
It is the finest collection of shark stories that I have read, and I have a library of several hundred shark books and thousands of books
on the ocean.I produced "The Sharks" and "The Great Whales" with
Nicolas Noxon.
Don't believe a word of that negative and malicious attack
by another reader. He obviously hasn't even read the book, or
he would know that it is an anthology by the best and the brightest
compiled by two of the finest divers and experts on shark behavior in the world.
As a National Geographic Society filmmaker, I can personally attest
to the reputation of the Ron and Valerie to protect sharks and not malign them or endanger them.
Their whole lives have been dedicated to proving the myths about
sharks and they have been interviewed thousands of times and spoken
clearly in defense of sharks and against the rampant killing of them.
I am angered, because someone who clearly doesn't know anything about
this book or the Taylor's has grossly misrepresented them and the book.
The review is not only totally incorrect but so vicious it is worthy of a libel lawsuit.
Not a book to trust.
The very fact that the foreword is written by Peter Benchley - author of one of the greatest fictional films about a shark ever to have been produced (Jaws!, of course), and that his name also appears on the cover with equal billing alongside that of the authors, sets the scene for this fairly run-of-the-mill work.
Ron and Valerie Taylor came to prominence through their underwater photography and a series of television appearances many years ago. In those days they were good and interesting. Between then and now, however, they seem to have become Valerie and Ron Taylor, a switch designed to put the female half of the partnership first - if only because she is an archetypal good looking blonde who is now being used to promote what has become an ailing appeal.
I have a number of books about sharks and shark attacks in my library. There are plenty on the market both old and new. There are no lessons to be learned from this book, I could find no original material and with the overall theme of "fiction" created by the writer of that foreword, I am not so sure I could trust anything written here. That wretched chain-mail suit makes yet another appearance - something which, quite frankly draws a large question mark over the Taylors' overall ability, knowledge and approach towards reporting anything about Sharks.
As I said about another book in which their work has appeared "Today, all species of Shark are becoming increasingly endangered - some critically so. I wonder how much Ron and Valerie Taylor (Whoops, sorry should have said Valerie and Ron!) have contributed to the overall decline of this creature in general and the Great White in particular. Perhaps they haven't - but I suspect they have and, if so, that is not something for which they can be proud."
So, if you do pick up this book and read about some pretty gruesome attack, just remember, like Jaws, it might not have happened quite as told here!!!
My final comment is that this book might have been a great opportunity to include some fairly amazing photographs. Like so much of their work these days, it was another opportunity lost.
NM
Not a book to trust.
The very fact that the foreword is written by Peter Benchley - author of one of the greatest fictional films about a shark ever to have been produced (Jaws!, of course), and that his name also appears on the cover with equal billing alongside that of the authors, sets the scene for this fairly run-of-the-mill work.
Ron and Valerie Taylor came to prominence through their underwater photography and a series of television appearances many years ago. In those days they were good and interesting. Between then and now, however, they seem to have become Valerie and Ron Taylor, a switch designed to put the female half of the partnership first - if only because she is an archetypal good looking blonde who is now being used to promote what has become an ailing appeal.
I have a number of books about sharks and shark attacks in my library. There are plenty on the market both old and new. There are no lessons to be learned from this book, I could find no original material and with the overall theme of "fiction" created by the writer of that foreword, I am not so sure I could trust anything written here. That wretched chain-mail suit makes yet another appearance - something which, quite frankly draws a large question mark over the Taylors' overall ability, knowledge and approach towards reporting anything about Sharks.
As I said about another book in which their work has appeared "Today, all species of Shark are becoming increasingly endangered - some critically so. I wonder how much Ron and Valerie Taylor (Whoops, sorry should have said Valerie and Ron!) have contributed to the overall decline of this creature in general and the Great White in particular. Perhaps they haven't - but I suspect they have and, if so, that is not something for which they can be proud."
So, if you do pick up this book and read about some pretty gruesome attack, just remember, like Jaws, it might not have happened quite as told here!!!
My final comment is that this book might have been a great opportunity to include some fairly amazing photographs. Like so much of their work these days, it was another opportunity lost.
NM
Stories That Will Send Shivers Down Your Spine
Tales of the mile-deep blue sea, written for sheer adventure...about divers and sharks, shark-catching, game fishing for sharks, sharks that attack, shark behavior, shark lore...A fabulous haul of the best true and fictional stories about sharks and human encounters with sharks. Stories by Cousteau, Hemingway, Thor Heyerdahl, Peter Benchley, Peter Matthiesen, Arthur C. Clarke, Zane Grey & More.
... Read more
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