From the Bahamas and South Africa to Shanghai, sharks are the object of obsession: film stars go big-game fishing for them and shark's fin soup is a coveted status symbol in China. Elsewhere, people and sharks exist alongside each other: surfers tolerate their presence and eco-tourists swim with them. Yet, after millions of years of the shark's evolution and survival, the human fascination with these animals may eventually lead to their extinction. In her eye-opening adventure, which criss-crosses the globe, Juliet Eilperin examines why sharks remain perhaps nature's most awe-inspiring creatures. She also explores the fascinating ways in which humans relate to the ocean's top predator.
Juliet Eilperin is the environmental correspondent for The Washington Post where she writes about science, policy and politics on subjects ranging from climate change to oceans. She lives with her family in Washington, D.C.
'A salutary and eye-opening take on the world of the shark. A creature that [...] deserves such a wide-ranging book"
- Philip Hoare
"Juliet Eilperin has followed the story of sharks, and their uneasy relationship to man, across the globe; her intriguing, even-handed account is an eye-opener"
- Daily Telegraph
"A dream come true [...] The natural history is pretty amazing"
- London Review of Books