An adult great white is a big shark – reallybig. It has been responsible for more shark bites and human deaths than anyother species, according to the International Shark Attack File. This isprobably because it sees us as aberrant marine mammals flailing about in thewater and certainly worth an exploratory bite – but a gentle mouthing from atwo-tonne white shark, its jaws filled with row upon row of razor-sharp teeth,could result in a severe mauling for any victim unlucky enough to haveattracted its attention.Though its danger was well known to ancientmariners, it was not until the mid-1970s that it came to occupy its currentplace in the popular imagination, when Jaws was unleashed on anunsuspecting public. The great white shark’s reputation hit rock bottom in thewake of the Spielberg classic. But during the fifty years since the film’sfirst release, public interest in the species has sparked a renaissance inresearch, producing remarkable new insights into the life of this extraordinaryanimal.Telling the story of the great white sharkfrom the perspectives of history, psychology and biology, White Shark isnothing less than the biography of the world’s most fascinating fish.
