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The Lives of Sharks: A Natural History of Shark Life
A richly illustrated and comprehensive introduction to the world’s sharks
Sharks are the top predators in many marine ecosystems. But tales of the killer instincts and fearsomely sharp senses of these hunters can obscure their full life histories. In fact, sharks are characterful, exhibit surprisingly complex behaviors, and lead secretive lives full of interest in every type of marine habitat. The Lives of Sharks is a fascinating and beautifully illustrated guide to these iconic marine creatures from two world-renowned experts. This book explores shark physiology, anatomy, behavior, ecology, and evolution, as well as conservation and the impact of human activity on shark populations. With stunning photographs and illustrations, as well as profiles of selected species, this is a comprehensive, authoritative, and inviting introduction to global shark life today.
Sharks are the top predators in many marine ecosystems. But tales of the killer instincts and fearsomely sharp senses of these hunters can obscure their full life histories. In fact, sharks are characterful, exhibit surprisingly complex behaviors, and lead secretive lives full of interest in every type of marine habitat. The Lives of Sharks is a fascinating and beautifully illustrated guide to these iconic marine creatures from two world-renowned experts. This book explores shark physiology, anatomy, behavior, ecology, and evolution, as well as conservation and the impact of human activity on shark populations. With stunning photographs and illustrations, as well as profiles of selected species, this is a comprehensive, authoritative, and inviting introduction to global shark life today.
288 pages, Hardcover
Published September 19, 2023
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92 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 16, 2025
Abel and Grubbs' "The Lives of Sharks; A Natural History of Shark Life" is an outstanding work detailing sharks and their lives.
The book is divided into two parts which are interspersed with each other. One part is dedicated to describing individual shark species. It includes information about each species range, diet, reproduction rates, size, and trophic level (where it sits in the local food chain). Surprisingly, most sharks are not apex predators because most shark species do not exceed 10ft in length when fully mature. In fact, most shark species are less than 3 feet long at maturity and are both predator and prey.
The other half of the book contains information about sharks in general; their evolution, their varied reproductive paths, diets, and threats to their continued existence (almost entirely human caused).
All of this is accompanied by excellent photography especially of individual species.
"Sharks" is a top notch intro to the fascinating world of sharks. I would highly recommend to anyone with even a passing interest in these amazing fish.
The book is divided into two parts which are interspersed with each other. One part is dedicated to describing individual shark species. It includes information about each species range, diet, reproduction rates, size, and trophic level (where it sits in the local food chain). Surprisingly, most sharks are not apex predators because most shark species do not exceed 10ft in length when fully mature. In fact, most shark species are less than 3 feet long at maturity and are both predator and prey.
The other half of the book contains information about sharks in general; their evolution, their varied reproductive paths, diets, and threats to their continued existence (almost entirely human caused).
All of this is accompanied by excellent photography especially of individual species.
"Sharks" is a top notch intro to the fascinating world of sharks. I would highly recommend to anyone with even a passing interest in these amazing fish.
May 12, 2025
So well written and explored, I hope the authors are proud of themselves for managing to produce a piece of work that is both approachable, but also informative and engaging for people already familiar with elasmobranch biology. Despite being an informative text, genuine passion for every shark species discussed in here comes off the pages in waves (haha, waves) and the respect in which all of them are studied and understood is so beautiful to read, and I will be using so much of the information as a reference and source as it is so thoroughly explained and researched.
Having read so many of Dean Grubbs articles over the years on shark conservation and marine ecology it makes me happy that the study of sharks is becoming common and interesting enough to the general public that something like this was published, and more accessible than only through a scholarly avenue.
Such beautiful descriptors of all kinds of sharks when so many ecological guides will only explore the bigger pelagic sharks, it was very exciting to see so many deep sea sharks that are very often forgotten in works like this. So so many amazing photographs that enrich every part of information in here too.
I love you sharks I’m your biggest fan just ask anyone okay.
Having read so many of Dean Grubbs articles over the years on shark conservation and marine ecology it makes me happy that the study of sharks is becoming common and interesting enough to the general public that something like this was published, and more accessible than only through a scholarly avenue.
Such beautiful descriptors of all kinds of sharks when so many ecological guides will only explore the bigger pelagic sharks, it was very exciting to see so many deep sea sharks that are very often forgotten in works like this. So so many amazing photographs that enrich every part of information in here too.
I love you sharks I’m your biggest fan just ask anyone okay.
January 5, 2024
This is possibly the best book about sharks I've ever read. The authors are obviously extremely enthusiastic and passionate about sharing their immense amount of knowledge, and their passion keeps each chapter entertaining as you can feel their energy.
This book is not your standard pandering, with photos and facts of only the big sharks like bull sharks and white sharks, this is finally a book about the cool and weird little guys that don't look like your Hollywood sharks.
A delightful array of fantastic photography shows of the beauty of these creatures, and the detailed diagrams of shark anatomy show things about these animals that you never knew/understood before.
The chapters jump between different aspects of shark biology and individual species that highlight the previous chapter, which is so much more engaging than just dumping all the species in a separate chapter at the end, which I feel a lesser book would do. I especially loved the chapter on estuary and river environments.
5 stars, brilliant from start to finish,
thank you Daniel and Dean
This book is not your standard pandering, with photos and facts of only the big sharks like bull sharks and white sharks, this is finally a book about the cool and weird little guys that don't look like your Hollywood sharks.
A delightful array of fantastic photography shows of the beauty of these creatures, and the detailed diagrams of shark anatomy show things about these animals that you never knew/understood before.
The chapters jump between different aspects of shark biology and individual species that highlight the previous chapter, which is so much more engaging than just dumping all the species in a separate chapter at the end, which I feel a lesser book would do. I especially loved the chapter on estuary and river environments.
5 stars, brilliant from start to finish,
thank you Daniel and Dean
June 11, 2024
5 / 5 stars 🌟
This book met every expectation I had going into reading it. The terminology was advanced but still accessible to someone outside of elasmobranchology. Having taken a vertebrate zoology class that covered elasmobranchies, I was really proud of how much information I retained!
The pictures were breathtaking, and I finished this book loving sharks even more than when I started! I recommend this to anyone looking to get a nonsensationalized scientific understanding of the ecology of sharks.
This book met every expectation I had going into reading it. The terminology was advanced but still accessible to someone outside of elasmobranchology. Having taken a vertebrate zoology class that covered elasmobranchies, I was really proud of how much information I retained!
The pictures were breathtaking, and I finished this book loving sharks even more than when I started! I recommend this to anyone looking to get a nonsensationalized scientific understanding of the ecology of sharks.
March 13, 2024
Lush beautifully illustrated hardback, a terrific gift for anyone interested in the marine world - divers, younger readers keen to be marine biologists, surfers, etc.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews