From Amazon
Nothing puts quite the same tingling fear in swimmers, surfers, and divers--especially in the quarter century since Peter Benchley's novel Jaws conquered the bestseller charts--as the thought that a shark might be plying its course somewhere in the murky deep below. Thomas Allen plays on that fear in the opening pages of Shadows in the Sea with a strangely entertaining compendium of shark attacks on humans over the centuries. (The humans get their licks in, however, in the pages that follow, in which Allen recounts the exploits of William Young, an Ahab who chased sharks around the world.) Allen goes on to describe the ways in which scientists have attempted to understand the ways of sharks and their selachian kin, the skates and rays; looks at the place of the shark in the world's folklore and cuisine; and examines the commercial shark-fishing industry. His useful book closes with a species-by-species account of the world's principal shark types, from the 6-inch dogfish to the 20-foot great blue shark. Allen does a fine job of giving his readers an idea of the many ways these frightening but fragile denizens of the sea live their lives--and he provides plenty of anecdotes to disturb a beachgoer's dreams. --Gregory McNamee
From Library Journal
Allen is one of three people who prepared the first edition of Shadows in the Sea in 1963. That work is sometimes considered the "classic" work on sharks. It certainly led the way for other works that include a similar range of information, e.g., Rodney Steel's Sharks of the World (LJ 3/1/86), Facts on File's Sharks (LJ 10/1/87), or Richard Ellis's Book of Sharks (1976). Allen, a former writer for National Geographic, has done well in adding updated information, especially in the areas on shark attacks and uses of sharks; however, he has made far fewer updates to the section on the scientific families, except for the addition of Megachasmidae (Megamouth). He does include rays and skates, which are not covered in the other books, as well as shark legends. Fairly easy reading for the scope of coverage, this book is recommended for secondary schools as well as public and academic libraries. (Illustrations and index not seen.)-Jean E. Crampon, Univ. of California, Los Angeles
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From the Back Cover
This much praised book is perhaps the most thorough and most readable guide to the sharks of the world, to shark attacks, and to the natural history of these fearsome creatures and their cousin-species, the skates and rays.Long out of print, this edition of Shadows in the Sea has been fully updated by the author. (6 X 9, 368 pages, b&w photos, illustrations, charts)
