Rating: 
Summary: Solid narrative
Review: "Close to Shore" does an excellent job in telling the tale of the 1916 Jersey Shore shark attacks. His main achievement in spinning this sea monster yarn is in laying the groundwork - to be convincing and achieve the real horror of the vent, Capuzzo had to put the reader into the perspective on an American of the period - prior to Jaws, "The Summer of the Shark" and all that. To us, shark attacks are a morbid curiousity and a subject of tabloid journalism and horror movies. To the people in 1916, well, they were not even sure if some sharks were dangerous to man (dismissing stories of such things as ignorant or superstitious). This is done with loving attention, and achieves great effect by the time the first attack is described.I gave the book three starts rather than four because of Capuzzo's departure from good historical journalism in dismissing the possibility that the shark was a bull shark (quite possible), or that separate sharks were involved. It makes for good drama to have a single "character," and to our modern post-Jaws sensibilities, that would just HAVE to be a great white (we are talking sharks here). However, this is supposedly a work of non-fiction, and such devices are both unnecessary and detract from the overall value of the work. That said, the book is an good, page-turning read. My sister borrowed the copy from me as soon as I was done with it, and she almost never borrows books from me. I still haven't gotten it back!
Rating: 
Summary: Very Good Read
Review: A terrific accomplishment on the part of Michael Capuzzo, whose research into the shark attacks themselves is rivaled by his brilliant recreation of an historical period that is (unfortunately) long gone. I must mention one negative, however. At one point, Mr. Capuzzo names F. Scott Fitzgerald as a scion of the WASP establishment. What! Fitzgerald was, of course, a Catholic, as the most elementary research would have revealed to Mr. Capuzzo. Not key to the narrative, you might say. To be sure. But I don't like clumsy research. Moreover, if Mr. Capuzzo has made a mistake that I can recognize, it makes me wonder if he's made some that I can't. And that's a troubling thought. Still, I had a hard time putting the book down, and perhaps that's the main thing.
Rating: 
Summary: Deserves a Pulitzer Prize!
Review: Beautifully written, beautifully researched. I found the historical detail fascinating. This book deserves the Pulitzer Prize!
Rating:
Summary: A real spine-tingler
Review: Capuzzo does an amazing job of keeping the reader on the edge of his seat, switching seamlessly from the shark's point of view back to happenings on land. You get an excellent sense of what life and people were like back then, and how they reacted to these frightening incidents.
Rating:
Summary: Close To Shore: A True Story of Terror in an Age of Innocenc
Review: Close to Shore is a "coming-of-age story" and a work of satire. If you are looking for a great read - intense and true, but all the while exciting and captivating - this is the book for you! A novel of suspense, terror, innocence, and facades, "Close to Shore" is a novel that weaves two distinct but related stories into one. Capuzzo's 1st story encompasses life in America prior to entrance into WWI, the 2nd story, tells of the 5 horrifying shark attacks of 1916 along the "Jersey Shore." Capuzzo's use of alternation and weaving these two stories creates two plots that eventually merge - ensuing in distrust of reality and suspense. A sense of irony also exists, as the horror of the shark intensifies as society loses innocence. The use of personification and litotes (understatements used for intensification purposes) creates a vivid picture of life and character. I absolutely loved this book - not only because of the subject matter, but because it was presented in such an unique way and captivated my interest for days! I've never read a better "reality" book that entwines reality with the facades of another decade - a great combination for a great read!
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: A lively history of events
Review: Close To Shore re-creates the summer of 1916, when a rogue Great White shark attacked swimmers along the New Jersey shore and triggered the most extensive shark hunt in history. Maps, diagrams, and details on shark behavior and physiology accompany a lively history of events.
Rating:
Summary: Shallow, but with a bite
Review: CLOSE TO SHORE reminds me of books like THE HOT ZONE, THE PERFECT STORM and A CIVIL ACTION, nonfiction books written like suspense novels. Like those books, this one works. It is a fun, if scary, compelling story. Because it is real, it is more interesting and has the feel of being weightier than, say JAWS. Of course, CLOSE TO SHORE isn’t really weightier than JAWS. Its nonfiction status is almost incidental. Capuzzo’s storytelling skills are not unlike Peter Benchley’s. Benchley apparently based his most famous book o the same series of events, only he exaggerated a little more. Similarly, Capuzzo tells the story so that it makes the best story rather than convey the most solid facts. The reason I know this is because Capuzzo admits as much. He tells the story of a rouge shark that is apparently captured at the end. After the capture, Capuzzo hints that some of the premises of his story are questionable. No matter, the book is fun. As enjoyable as CLOSE TO SHORE is, Capuzzo does miss a few opportunities. He mentions that the presence of a German sub off the East Coast competed with the shark in the summer of 1916 for headlines and the imagination of fearful Americans. He does not, however, explore how the pedestrian and largely imagined horror of the shark was compared to what would come with World War I and the Flu epidemic of 1918. Capuzzo hints at this (at least he hints at the contrasts with the horrors of war, not the Flu), but he doesn’t really do much with this. Aside from the people directly involved, the mass hysteria about the shark was largely fake, yet it was so much easier to grasp than the vast devastation of World War I. As for the Flu, the public wanted to forget, if hardly acknowledge, the microorganism that killed millions while a shark fit perfectly into the pre-established beast from the abyss myth. In this way, the shark stood in as a way to help make sense of imminent terrors too tough to accept at face value. Such metaphors became obsolete soon, but in 1916 it was needed. Perhaps if the shark didn’t attack, something like it would have been invented. Capuzzo’s story is interesting enough, but it is as shallow and sensational as the story must have been when it was happening. Still, it is very much worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Quintessential Beach Read
Review: I can't remember the last book I absolutely could not put down, until "Close to Shore" swam by on Father's Day. As engrossing as the stories of shark attacks were, I was even more impressed with the author's evocation of an era much maligned or misunderstood. As America clung relentlessly to the myth of isolation from Europe's problems, a denizen of denial from the deeps shattered the enforced social order of the Victorian Jersey shore. I was enthralled by Capuzo's recreation of the pulse and rhythms of life in 1916. It helped me gain a new appreciation for my native state of New Jersey and the life my Dad grew up in, as he was born in New Jersey in 1913. The old European world with its new problems dragged him and others of his era into modernity with the same force and urgency as the shark dragged young men to their deaths. More than a gripping story of sharks and sea, Close to Shore is a reminder that clinging to an outdated belief system in the face of facts is foolish and, in some cases, fatal.
Rating: 
Summary: johnny come lately
Review: I just don't get it. I thought the novelesque style here would keep me riveted, but then I wanted to know what really happened in 1916. Even though this book is well written, I get the funny feeling it's not the real McKoy on this subject. Then I saw the NAtionl Geographic film and the Discvery channel film based on that other factual book on this same subject. Shame, Shame
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