Shark Attack

Renowned marine conservationist and artist Richard Ellis addresses the popular myths, misconceptions, and exploits of great white sharks, tiger sharks, bull sharks, and the many other species that roam the waters of our planet.

Do sharks deserve their universally bad reputation? Sharks are clearly not harmless—Shark Attack includes many true stories of seemingly unwarranted attacks on humans. Yet if sharks truly were vengeful carnivores, no beach on earth would be safe for fishing, surfing, or swimming. Ellis argues that Jaws, the popular 1975 film that misrepresented sharks in almost every detail, has damaged our perception of sharks. Today, museums and aquariums endeavor to rehabilitate the shark’s image, and environmentalists and animal rights activists struggle to slow relentless overfishing. Yet their efforts may be too late to save hundreds of shark species from near or total extinction.