Customer Reviews:
 I have problems with this one. January 24, 2008
22 out of 22 found this review helpful
On the one hand, this is a very good book with much information for the reader. On the other, it's as though the book has been hijacked by Ron and Valerie Taylor. OK, so I never did like their gung-ho, macho style of attacking the Shark head-on for reasons of personal publicity, but let me make 2 points; Firstly, the book is billed as having an "Introduction by Ron & Valerie Taylor." Surely that means "they" didn't actually write it. Secondly, at the beginning we have a complete list of 8 contributors in addition to the Taylors'. OK, so they wrote part of it. There is a photograph of all but one of these contributors and, of course, the Taylors' just "had" to pose looking through the jaws of a Great White Shark which they are holding up for personal effect.
Elsewhere we find photographs of Valerie Taylor wearing a chain mail suit covered in Shark food trying to get a Shark to bite her arm - I always thought it a great pity she didn't try that stunt using a tin hat instead. But I have to ask; Is this a serious book or what? Judging by the qualifications of the contributors (some of which are very impressive - and none of which are held by the Taylors'!), I think it is. It would, however, have been much better with just the input from those other 8 people. Why? Because they are people I can take seriously. Put another way, with all reference to the Taylors' removed, this would easily have been a 5 Star publication.
Today, all species of Shark are becoming increasingly endangered - some critically so. I wonder how much Ron and Valerie Taylor 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.
The days of the great white safari to shoot wildlife in Africa and the Tiger in Bengal are long-gone. How long do we have to wait until the antics of those who persecute great creatures from the deep also come to an end?
NM
 The First and Only... April 28, 2004
8 out of 22 found this review helpful
This was the first shark book I ever read at the age of seven and it gotme hooked. Now, twelve years later, I still prefer it above all that Ihave have read since. It is incredibly varied in content and ranges fromunbiased, yet classic (Rodney Fox, Henri Bource) real-life attack storiesto shark biology to detailed Worldwide shark identification tables. It hasinput from a diverse group of experts in their field and is beautifullyillustrated with some inspiring photography. An essential book for anyshark enthusiast!
Simply the best!!! March 25, 2003
17 out of 35 found this review helpful
All ten thumbs up for this one!
This is the best book about animals I've ever read.
In the back, it has a list of all the known sharks in the world, along with details about them (where they live, their size, what they eat, their colours, their latin name and additional info). It has a chart that shows how the sharks are divided into different orders. It has lots and lots of nice pictures of sharks (in colours!), charts which explain the different depths of the sea, the body of the shark (muscles, 'skeleton', stomach, internal organs and so on). It has a chapter filled with data about shark attacks (most frequently attacked beach, area of the beach, hour of the day, month of the year....) If you are a fan of indexes, you will not be disappointed by this book: it has three. In the front, there's the usual chapter-by-chapter, in the back it has two: One for the sharks (listed alphabetically by their common names and their latin name) and one for the rest of the book too.In short: it has everything a shark enthusiast, like me, needs. It even has stories about different shark attacks and experiences! It's the ultimate guide to sharks for people who are not scientists...
And the best thing is: it's written by a lot of different people (scientists, divers...), so you're not stuck with ONE person's opinions. If you ARE a scientist, you might consider reading this anyway because it gives you so much information in easy, beautiful charts that even an experienced shark researcher might benefit from.
brilliant! a beautifully illistrated book! October 28, 2000
17 out of 35 found this review helpful
This book had lots of different case studies and true encounters with sharks. It also had interesting information about the way the hunt, and where they are found. It had a special section where it told you every species of shark, and information about each one. This was one of the best shark book i have ever read!
|
