Rating: 
Summary: Wow...Capuzzo makes history fun!
Review: Are you interested in a real-life story that is just as thrilling as Jaws? If so, check out Michael Capuzzo's Close to Shore. Since I am originally from Jersey, I was very interested in learning about the NJ shark attacks of 1916...so I decided to order this book. I was highly impressed!
Close to Shore is a careful, well-researched account of the events that occurred in Beach Haven, Spring Lake and the Matawan Creek area during July of 1916. But don't get the impression that this is just some dull, tedious historical book. Capuzzo wrote this book in the style of a suspenseful page-turner and it is just as exciting to read as Peter Benchley's classic novel, Jaws. Not only will you learn about the attacks, you will also get a perspective of the time period and some information on how sharks behave.
If you are looking for a good shark story, then this true tale is just the thing for you!
Rating:
Summary: FAR MORE RIVETING THAN JAWS
Review: CLOSE TO SHORE provides a fascinating look at not only the first documented shark attacks in the history of the United States, it also provides a look at the culture of the Eastern Seaboard at the turn of the century. In a very wellwritten account, author Michael Capuzzo, recaps the beliefs of the day about open-sea swimming and sharks. He discusses the almost maniacal craze that possessed some to swim with sharks in order to prove that sharks were harmless and their own bizarre machismo. Capuzzo also adds further flavor and perspective by discussing the norms of the day regarding swimming attire, the culture of New Jersey's nouveau riche, other news stories of the period and the limitations of the physicians of the day regarding the brutality of wounds inflicted by great white sharks. Far more riveting than Benchley's JAWS, CLOSE TO SHORE brings the true account of July 1916 along the Jersey Shore where three adults and a boy were attacked and killed as helpless witnesses looked on in horror. Capuzzo masterfully tells the morbid tale from not only the human perspective, but also, by using information and facts from modern shark experts, from the perspective of the shark and its instincts. The book switches back and forth from human to shark in a way that wonderfully builds the account and the real-life suspense of the events involved. In fact, CLOSE TO SHORE is a wonderful resource regarding sharks generally. Capuzzo's research seemed so complete that at times I felt like I was reading a biology primer on sharks. CLOSE TO SHORE proves to be a compelling page turner that you just can't miss!
Rating: 
Summary: Ocean-goers beware!
Review: Having lived most of my life near the New Jersey shore, and about only five miles from the site of some of these incidents, this book was a "must read" for me. And I would have to say Michael Capuzzo doesn't disappoint. Perhaps because I am familiar with many of the places mentioned, I have an unfair advantage over most readers - this made it easier to follow and understand the story (my hometown of Belford was even mentioned once!). But even without that perspective I feel that I would have enjoyed it anyway. Capuzzo does indeed write the story something like a novel - delving into what people may have been thinking and feeling - even what the shark may have been doing in-between attacks. Because of this, it can't be looked at as a completely factual book. But that's missing the point. The story itself is true (although there remains some debate about a "lone killer" or many), and that's what makes it so compelling. There was a shark and there were several attacks, and some came in an inland creek. Debating whether it was a Great White or a Bull shark in the creek is immaterial to the story of the "terror" that had gripped New Jersey; that was certainly all too real, for the unfortunate victims and for their families. Capuzzo should also be commended for the research that was necessary to write this book. I say that because, even though I've lived here for 32 years, this story was unknown to me until this book (and "12 Days of Terror") came out in 2001. It simply was not well-known lore of the area, believe it or not. I'm convinced Capuzzo has changed that - at least for those of us who live here, he has. I drive over the Matawan Creek on my way to work in the morning - and there isn't a day that goes by where I'm not peeking out my car window, just to get a glimpse of what might be lurking in the water below! Well done by Capuzzo. Four stars.
Rating:
Summary: Close To Shore - A great "beach book"
Review: I ordered both Close to Shore and 12 Days of Terror before my recent beach vacation. Being from New Jersey and having heard the tales of the NJ shark attacks since childhood, I had a great interest in these books. I read Close to Shore first and was hooked (no pun intended) from the beginning. The story of the New Jersey shark attacks were thoroughly told. The writer's style makes you feel as if you are there in 1916 and that you are getting to know each of the victims. The shark is described so well that there were times I felt sorry for the shark! This book is written more like a novel, even though it is non-fiction. 12 Days of Terror by Dr. Fernicola tells the same story but in a more scientific manner. It too is an interesting read, but different as it is more clinical. I'm glad I read Close to Shore first. The character descriptions prepared me for the additional information in 12 Days of Terror. I highly recommend Close to Shore if you can only read one book on this topic. It made me look out over the ocean on more than one occasion as I sat on the beach. We know these predators live there...but what a great reminder.
Rating:
Summary: A thoroughly fascinating account
Review: I picked this book up because I thought it might be interesting to read about an account of a series of documented shark attacks on the East Coast in 1916. Looking for that "Jaws" fix, if you will. Well, I didn't get it. The book is good, but as several of the prior reviewers state it is almost as much of a social history as an account of shark attacks. The first attack doesn't even occur until about 100 pages into the book. Probably the best thing about the book is the last third is fairly exciting; however, in the last chapter the author admits some of the things the prior reviewers complain about; i.e., Was it a Great White? Was it a shark at all? etc. So that's somewhat of a letdown, especially when the author has gone to such great lengths to describe the Great White's movements and reasoning. All I can say is I wouldn't buy it. I checked it out from the library after seeing it in a local bookstore and I'm better for it. This book tries to be several things at once and doesn't achieve any of them very well. In addition, I can't say I care for the author's writing style, either. The book is probably best suited for a middle school student because it might spark an interest in history or ichthyology, and it's an easy read.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Summer Read
Review: I was initially turned on to Close to Shore when I read an excerpt of it in a magazine (I think. I can't quite remember where it was.). Not usually a non-fiction fan, I was intrigued by the subject matter, and the tone of the book.
I've read a few of the previous reviews, and I would like to respond to aspects of this book that some readers found detrimental. First, a lot of people have complained about the lack of action in the beginning of the book, and the overall tone. As a reader who for the most part sticks to fiction, I found the pace and tone to be just right. I enjoyed learning some of the backgrounds of people involved in this event, as well as getting a glimpse of what the Jersey coast was like in 1916. I wasn't expecting page after page of shark attacks, and if that's what you want, Close to Shore is not the book for you.
Mr. Capuzzo does an excellent job of filling out the individuals and places touched by the shark roaming the East Coast that summer. What could have come off as a dry, text-book style tome is instead a glimpse into the lives of the famous, infamous, and unknowns of the time. I enjoyed this book as much for the social history as the terrifying experiences it revolves around.
One note, and the reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5: I was disappointed by the lack of pictures. Not gory pictures of attack victims or eviscerated sharks per se, but photos of the Engleside, or the E&S, or of those who experienced this summer in the most intimate ways. Surely there were year book pictures of young Charles Vansant, photos of the boardwalks, snapshots of the townspeople and vacationers. Mr. Capuzzo mentions all of these, but unfortunately does not include them for us to see for ourselves. Granted, I have a vivid imagination, but knowing the reality of these people and places would have made Close to Shore all the more immediate and engaging.
Other than that, I recommend Close to Shore for a little beach or poolside reading. Approach it like a good summer novel, not a case-by-case account of shark attacks and you should be fine.
Rating:
Summary: THE TRUE STORY THAT INSPIRED JAWS
Review: In 1916, in a society in which many of the features (good or bad) of modern America that today we take for granted were just being timidly born, the New Jersey shore was an idyllic Eden that offered rest and tonic to tourists and vacationers from across the country. But every Eden has its serpent, in this case the seas's most terrifying "monster"--a man-eating shark. Michael Capuzzo's book is the real-life saga of how the people of the Jersey Shore struggled to deal with this new, unfathomable horror, as well as the story of the shark itself and how it may have ended up in such an unlikely locale and how its bloody ambushes were orchestrated. Sadly, information we can all get from the Discovery Channel today was unheard of in 1916, and a great many scientists and leaders of the day refused to believe a shark was even capable of such brutal behavior, never mind having any idea what to actually do about it. Capuzzo masterfully recreates the time and place of the tragedy, putting the reader right there with the persons who lived it out in their homes, offices, and even in the deadly water itself. The author's research is daunting, but the writing itself is miraculously unemcumbered, flowing with a grace and energy most novelists would envy. It is, in many ways, a better book than Peter Benchley's "Jaws," which was actually based in part upon this very incident. "Close to Shore" works on multiple levels--historical document, real life drama, and a study of human nature in the face of unmitigated horror. The end of the book does leave the reader with some questions, so it may well also be a steppingstone to further research. Highly readable, informative, thrilling and engaging, "Close to Shore" is an easy book to recommend.
Rating:
Summary: The Perect Beach Book for History Buffs
Review: Michael Cappuzzo's Close to Shore (A True Story of Terror in an Age of Innocence) covers the shark attacks on the New Jersey coast during 1916 that lead to the first four reported deaths by shark attack in American waters. The author spends a lot of time trying to create the feel of the times, sometimes with success, as a way to pad out a rather flimsy tale. The story does pick up a strong narrative thrust during the episode at Matawan and the author handles this material especially well. It is worth reading through much of the rest of the account to come to this very satifyingly drawn episode that captures both the period and the drama with equal aplomb. The author has done much research and should have felt comfortable sharing a little more with the reader, such as accounts of unconfirmed shark attacks in America before this time, a history of sea wrecks on the Jersey coast, and more of the scientific debate on sharks over the past century, to set more of a historical context grounded in the ocean, instead of such things as the life of a doctor in Philadelphia at this period. Still, it is the perfect short read for the beach as the weather gets hotter and large shadows can be seen far off in the water.
Rating: 
Summary: great writing/poor accuracy
Review: Michael Capuzzo is an excellent writer and I wasn't certain why the book had to be semifictionalized. For example, why was the summer Whitehouse transplanted(artificially) from Asbury Park to Spring Lake ? Was it to make the second attack closer to the Woodrow Wilson summer offices ? It's just that the true story is so fantastic on its own without the need for embellishment.
Rating: 
Summary: Shark book left me in the deep end.
Review: The purple prose of this potboiler makes what would seem to be an intriguing subject nearly unbearable. It's as if Edgar Allen Poe wrote copy for Spiegel. The first couple of chapters are cluttered with signifiers, lest you forget that you are reading a story set in the year 1916. The author has a fetish for anthopomorphizing everything, from houses to the shark of the story. In addition to the tedious nature of the telling of this story, it is perhaps unforgivable that the essential premise of this book is likely incorrect, noticable even to the most casually informed reader, that a great white shark left the ocean for a environmentally hostile freshwater creek. Did it not occur to the author that this is a highly unlikely theory, and would constitute a nearly freak occurence in the natural history of this animal, particularly when there is another species of shark that regularly engages in this behavior and is a known attacker of humans, and is thus a more likely culprit: the bull shark. The bull shark is regularly found far upstream in even great rivers such as the Mississippi, and attacks by this creature are well documented. I understand the author's desire to ride on the coattails of Jaws, but remember Occham's Razor: the simplest solution is often the correct one.
For more insight on this book and it's author, try to catch the National Geographic's "Big Picture" documentary about this book and it's questionable premise, which poses the same competing and far more likely theory about the shark attacks of 1916.
|
