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Close to Shore
Close to Shore: The Terrifying Shark Attacks of 1916 | Michael Capuzzo
Combining rich historical detail and a harrowing, pulse-pounding narrative, Close to Shore brilliantly re-creates the summer of 1916, when a rogue Great White shark attacked swimmers along the New Jersey shore, triggering mass hysteria and launching the most extensive shark hunt in history. During the summer before the United States entered World War I, when ocean swimming was just becoming popular and luxurious Jersey Shore resorts were thriving as a chic playland for an opulent yet still innocent era's new leisure class, Americans were abruptly introduced to the terror of sharks. In July 1916 a lone Great White left its usual deep-ocean habitat and headed in the direction of the New Jersey shoreline. There, near the towns of Beach Haven and Spring Lake-and, incredibly, a farming community eleven miles inland-the most ferocious and unpredictable of predators began a deadly rampage: the first shark attacks on swimmers in U.S. history. For Americans celebrating an astoundingly prosperous epoch much like our own, fueled by the wizardry of revolutionary inventions, the arrival of this violent predator symbolized the limits of mankind's power against nature. Interweaving a vivid portrait of the era and meticulously drawn characters with chilling accounts of the shark's five attacks and the frenzied hunt that ensued, Michael Capuzzo has created a nonfiction historical thriller with the texture of Ragtime and the tension of Jaws. From the unnerving inevitability of the first attack on the esteemed son of a prosperous Philadelphia physician to the spine-tingling moment when a farm boy swimming in Matawan Creek feels the sandpaper-like skin of the passing shark, Close to Shore is an undeniably gripping saga. Heightening the drama are stories of the resulting panic in the citizenry, press and politicians, and of colorful personalities such as Herman Oelrichs, a flamboyant millionaire who made a bet that a shark was no match for a man (and set out to prove it); Museum of Natural History ichthyologist John Treadwell Nichols, faced with the challenge of stopping a mythic sea creature about which little was known; and, most memorable, the rogue Great White itself moving through a world that couldn't conceive of either its destructive power or its moral right to destroy. Scrupulously researched and superbly written, Close to Shore brings to life a breathtaking, pivotal moment in American history. Masterfully written and suffused with fascinating period detail and insights into the science and behavior of sharks, Close to Shore recounts a breathtaking, pivotal moment in American history with startling immediacy. From the Trade Paperback edition.
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BarkingMadRead
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@PuddleJumper here are my #roll100 books for September! Still trying to catch up 🤣🤣

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paisleyjess
Pickpick

I really liked this narrative historical book. I only wish there were pictures.

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Jgotham
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Pickpick

This book was good. Had a lot of detail and told a lot about the shark we know was the muse for Jaws. It was almost too detailed at times. A lot of times a story on the victim and their family seemed to drone on til I was like “ok..are we gonna talk about sharks now?” But if you have any interest in sharks or their behavior I would recommend this for sure.

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Jgotham
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“Sharks are considered by sailors to be fair quarry upon which to practice all the barbarianism of ingenious human nature.” I hate, hate reading things like this. Where out of mass panic humans kill animals without regard. Being indigenous, I feel that all animals are important and need respect.

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Jgotham
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Ironically I‘m reading this about the 1916 shark attacks while my girlfriend plays the new Maneater game on Xbox 🐠

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Jgotham
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I should be doing some yard work but I don‘t want to and I‘m reading instead. I just picked up this one on the shark attacks of 1916 because my Erik Larsen book was returned on Libby and now I have a 6 month wait before I can finish it 🥴

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MrBook
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#BookNDinner! Accompaniment this cool and breezy evening: my stir fry of olive oil-sautéed mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, carrots; tomatoes; cucumber; black olives; leafy greens; mozzarella; walnuts and sunflower seeds; and romano cheese; and sparkling mango lemonade. MMMmmm ?! This has been another presentation of: #MrBookKitchen. Happy reads & happy eats! ???

vivastory Is this preparation for Shark Week? 5y
MrBook @vivastory , ah, what a coincidence, lol! I‘m reading it for an upcoming book club, and now I have even more reason to be reading it 😆👏🏻🤗. It‘s an awesome book so far. 5y
Hooked_on_books I love this book! I was utterly fascinated by it. 5y
73 likes3 comments
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BeansPage
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Review video for the week is up:

🦈 https://youtu.be/SN9Q5Vl9gFU 🦈

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BeansPage
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Pickpick

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject of sharks, history, film history, or even true crime.

Please read my full review here:
https://thereadingmermaidsreviews.weebly.com/book-reviews/close-to-shore-by-mich...

MoonWitch94 Beach Haven is the beach I grew up visiting as a kid. They have a whole section in their Maritime Museum about the Shark Attacks of 1916. I will have to check this book out! 5y
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BeansPage
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Final stats for our #24B4Monday readathon. I have to say I'm pretty darn proud of myself! 💪🌟👏🎉
And now... sleep 😴💤

@Andrew65 @jb72

JacqMac Well done!! 5y
Lizpixie Congratulations🎉🎉🎉 5y
JazzFeathers I'm dazzled by all those 'read'! Fantastic readathon for you. It was pretty good for me too. Broke my previous record of 9 hours. Thanks so much for organising this, it was a blast! 5y
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Crazeedi What an awesome time! Whoohoo!!👏👏🎉🎉 5y
Andrew65 Brilliant, you should feel very proud of yourself, and you truly earned those 10 shots 🥃 Well done 🍾🥂🥳🎉🎊😍😎🥰 5y
SharonAlger Fantastic effort! I can‘t wait until September, because I‘m going to join in for the first time! 5y
TheSpineView Excellant! 👏👏👏 5y
BeansPage @JacqMac @Lizpixie @JazzFeathers @Crazeedi @Andrew65 @TheSpineView thank you so much my friends. I really put in a good effort this month. I think we all did ❤️🤗❤️ 5y
BeansPage @SharonAlger OMG how exciting!!!! 😁 Can't wait! 5y
Andrew65 @SharonAlger Fantastic! Will be great to have you with us. 😊👍 5y
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Lcsmcat
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alijzaidi
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Mehso-so

This book was entertaining enough. I picked this up at my local B&N at a buy 2 get 1 free table. To be completely honest probably would have never gotten it if it wasn‘t on that table. The author does talk a great deal about the actual shark attacks that inspired the book but a lot of time is also spent on people‘s attitudes towards sharks in the early 1900. Towards the end it was kind of a struggle to finish the book

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MrBook
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😱😱😱! @ReadingRover , you are too kind! ☺️ @BookBabe and I thank you so much! 🤗🤗🤗 #HappyHolidays #LitsyFamily

BookishMarginalia That‘s a super cute picture! 6y
Leftcoastzen You almost look too happy! 😂🌲 6y
LibrarianRyan Ahhhh 6y
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kspenmoll Great photo! 6y
erzascarletbookgasm Ha! Cute pic! 👍 6y
ReadingRover Omg this picture is too much!!! It‘s so you!!! I hope you guys like everything. I found the books on each of your tbrs. Out of everyone I know you two are the hardest to find stuff for 😝 I hope you have a great holiday!!! 6y
SilversReviews Ohhhh...I love this picture. 😊 6y
Rachel.Rencher How sweet! I absolutely love @ReadingRover ❤🤗 6y
ReadingRover @Rachel.Rencher awww 🥰 I love you too!!! 6y
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Amiable
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Pickpick

Nonfiction account of the summer of 1916, when a rogue Great White shark attacked swimmers along the New Jersey shore, triggering mass hysteria and launching the most extensive shark hunt in history. I especially enjoyed the vivid descriptions of life at the turn of the century.

LeahBergen I really enjoyed this, too! 6y
Lcsmcat This is a good one! I felt so sorry for the poor shark when she was stuck in fresh water. 6y
Amiable @LeahBergen @Lcsmcat I love nonfiction about random quirky things in history that I never knew about! 6y
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Velvetfur This sounds really interesting, do you think (or know) out inspired the film 'Jaws'? It doesn't say so in the synopsis up there.... 6y
Velvetfur *if it* inspired, I meant... 6y
Amiable @Velvetfur No, at least not according to "Jaws" author Peter Benchley, though he was certainly aware of the 1916 attacks (they are mentioned in his novel). 6y
Velvetfur @Amiable Oh duuuuuh I totally forgot it was a novel first!! I knew Jaws was based on something but couldn't remember what - obviously it was based on the book! Maybe the 1916 attacks have him a bit of spark of an idea then, since he was aware of them. Thank you for the info! 6y
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Lcsmcat
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Reading this makes me hungry, even though it‘s a HUGE amount of food for breakfast! #grill #quotsyaug18 @TK-421

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LeahBergen
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Just one of the reasons why I‘m not a fan of the #Beach . 🦈🦈🦈

😆😆

#ReadingResolutions

Aimeesue Right there with ya. There's sharks, jellyfish … and whales pee in there! 6y
Melissa_J I love swimming in the ocean, but sharks do freak me out (it doesn‘t stop me though 👌🏻). I did get stung by a jellyfish once in Myrtle Beach and that wasn‘t my idea of fun @Aimeesue 6y
rubyslippersreads I‘d rather just read about the beach. 😊 6y
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mabell Cool endpapers! 6y
LeahBergen @Aimeesue 😂😂 6y
LeahBergen @Melissa_J I do like to snorkel (so I should really lay off the shark attack books 😆). 6y
LeahBergen @mabell Aren‘t they? 😃 6y
Reviewsbylola I love this cover. 6y
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Lcsmcat
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AmyG Sharks...duh. Why I don‘t go in the ocean. Good book. (edited) 6y
keithmalek @AmyG Sadly, there are hardly any sharks left due to humans. You literally have a better chance of being killed by a soda machine. 6y
AmyG Ha...I don‘t drink soda. Ever since I saw Jaws...I refuse to step into the ocean. 6y
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Lcsmcat @AmyG @keithmalek If you read this book (rather than Jaws) you will see how the shark wasn‘t some evil monster, but a creature probably in terrible pain. And the humans weren‘t behaving well either. It didn‘t make me afraid of the ocean, but I did learn a lot. 6y
keithmalek @Lcsmcat I've read it. I guess I should also mention that I've gone cage-diving with great white sharks. 6y
AmyG @keithmalek Wow! @Lcsmcat I have great respect for all life. I am just also kind of a scaredy cat. ;) 6y
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TelevisionNeighbor
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"We love our monsters." How great is this quote?

Liberty 🦈❤️🦈❤️🦈 7y
TelevisionNeighbor @Liberty thanks to you and All the Backlist. Also had to get Shadow Divers because German U-boats! 7y
Liberty @Kristajayec Both soooooooo good! Such amazing stories. 💕 7y
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TelevisionNeighbor
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Reviewsbylola
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Mehso-so

This was good but not great. I found it a little dry in some sections, almost like the author was trying to draw the suspense out a little too much. I also thought the ending was somewhat convoluted. It is well researched though and very well written, with a good attention to detail. I learned quite a bit about sharks that I didn't know, like the fact that shark babies eat each other in utero and that the "winner" is the lucky one that is born. ?

Leelee.reads Great review! 8y
Zelma That trivia tidbit is horrifying. 😱 8y
Reviewsbylola Thanks! @Leelee.reads I know!! @zelma 8y
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MLRio When I was working at B&N we had this on the "Books for the Beach" table and I still cannot fathom who thought that was a good idea. 8y
Reviewsbylola 😂😂😂 It did make me never want to swim in a large body of water again. You never know when a shark could go rogue! @SureAsMel 8y
MLRio Kind of have to believe it was someone's idea of a joke 🐟 8y
keithmalek You might enjoy Susan Casey's book "The Devil's Teeth." 8y
Reviewsbylola Thanks, I'll check it out! @keithmalek 8y
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keithmalek

"We've forgotten what the ocean is," said ichthyologist George Burgess. "The ocean is a wilderness. We would never enter a forest wilderness without being aware of its dangers, its predators. Yet we think of the ocean as our giant backyard swimming pool. "

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tricours
Panpan

I can't stand these schizophrenic books that can't make up their minds about being non-fiction or fiction. I don't want to read about Victorian fashion or this or that damsel's deep thoughts on July 5th, 1916, I want shark attacks! And I definitely don't need detailed accounts of everyone's movements when no such thing can possibly be known to an author 100 years later. This book was so prestigious and annoying. Stop trying so hard! 😷

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tricours
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So this piece of information was amusing at least 😃 (I'm at 45% now, and luckily, there have been shark attacks by now.)

WanderingBookaneer I LOVED this book! 8y
tricours @WanderingBookaneer I'm kind of hating it 😁 8y
WanderingBookaneer @tricours : I'm just fascinated by all-things shark. 8y
tricours @WanderingBookaneer I like sharks and the ocean, but the style of writing is atrocious! If/when Morten Strøksnes' Havboka (The Ocean Book) becomes available in English in 2017 you have to read it! It's about the Greenland shark, and it's well written ? it looks like the English title will be Shark Drunk though 8y
WanderingBookaneer True, but the story is fascinating. Particularly the attacks on freshwater. Thanks! I'll keep an eye out. 8y
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tricours
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WHERE ARE THE SHARKS?!? Enough already! I'm at 22% and it just goes on and on in this flowery style. No sharks, no maiming, no death. Just Victorian this, Victorian that. There's obviously not enough drama to fill even a slight book here.

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KrisConstantReader
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Ebook deal today, this one looks great!

AmyG This was a good book. 8y
LeslieO I just got back from Spring Lake, NJ. They commemorated the 100th anniversary during shark week but I missed it. 8y
LeahBergen It is REALLY good! 8y
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Hoopiefoot Thanks for the heads up-this is right up my alley! 8y
KrisConstantReader @AmyG @LeahBergen thanks, I'm definitely getting this one! @Hoopiefoot you're very welcome @LeslieO that's so cool! 8y
Shemac77 So very good! 8y
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Shemac77
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Pickpick

Excellent read. Too often sharks are vilified for being what they are: apex predators. No anthropomorphizing here (thankfully, there's nothing more annoying). The author did a fantastic job of conjuring the feeling of that time and how the shark was reacting to oceanic changes.
The book is also an excellent example of the hubris endemic to man who assume that they own the rights to the natural world.
#michaelcapuzzo #readeverydayeverywhere

Megabooks Oooo that sounds really cool! 8y
Shemac77 Can't recommend it enough. It has the feel of a thriller. Enjoyed it immensely. @Ebooksandcooks 8y
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Shemac77
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Post night shift, post class, afternoon reading. #afternoonreading #michaelcapuzzo #readeverydayeverywhere

Twinning @Meg11726 !

Meg11726 Love it!! I'm currently not reading now tho.. It's parade day lol 8y
Shemac77 Ha! Exhibition shenanigans? @Meg11726 8y
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Shemac77
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Worldforreading
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Nothing like reading about real life shark attacks while on the Jersey shore 😬

Liberty One of my very favorites! 8y
Worldforreading @Liberty I'm really enjoying it so far 8y
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Liberty
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It's Shark Week! 🤘🏻💕📚

Baileythebookworm The best week of the year!! 8y
mauveandrosysky I hope the shows are more educational and informational this year. I bailed after that horrid megalodon mockumentary a few years ago but am ready to give it another chance! 8y
RealLifeReading I like how you have many copies of Jaws! 8y
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Magmar Yez. Seeing a midnight showing of Jaws, too! 8y
LitHousewife You do love sharks. My husband and youngest are going to see The Shallows today. I'm too 🐓 to go with them. 8y
TheBookDream That eyewitness shark book was my bible as a kid 8y
BekahB I love the Eyewitness shark book! I had that one and many others lining my shelves as a kid. I think they're still at my parents' house. 😀 8y
Lizpixie I used to love Ron & Valery Taylor's shark docos during the 70s-80s. They shot all the real shark footage for Jaws. Awesome Australian conservationists, even though Ron was attacked by a great white shark & was lucky to survive. 8y
Autumn Haha! Sharks are cool! 8y
KVanRead Jaws was one of the first 'grown up' books I read the summer I turned 11 - loved it but stuck to the pool all summer, lol. Watching the movie with my girls at my sister's cottage last summer gave birth to a family myth of the Great Canadian Lake Shark😱 8y
Scithighs Your picture reminded me of a guy with a second hand bookstore jokingly telling me the basement was filled with used Jaws. 😄 8y
CandycaneBelle Of course you are the one to put #sharkweek Up! I'm all about #sharkweek and I'm on staycation and life is good 8y
Bookkeeper I read it too way before it was a movie 8y
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Whitneyrwaller
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Also summer reading 🏊🏼🐬🏝 Who doesn't want to start the summer with a book about shark attacks.