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The Shark Handbook: The Essential Guide for Understanding the Sharks of the World
Dive deep into the world of sharks, the most fascinating and misunderstood marine animals on the planet, in this stunning new edition of the Shark Handbook.
Did you now that a whale shark’s spots are as unique as a fingerprint? Or that sharks can go into a trance when flipped upside down? Jump into brand new facts about these fierce sea creatures. Dive deep into the world of sharks, the most fascinating and misunderstood marine animals on the planet, in this stunning new edition of the Shark Handbook. Featuring over 400 profiles of every shark in existence, from the first sharks living about 445 million years ago to the ones lurking in the ocean deep today! Starring spectacular, full-color photography that makes these jaw-dropping sharks come to life. This is the perfect gift for the shark enthusiast in your life!
Dr. Greg Skomal, PhD, is an experienced aquarist and Marine Fisheries Biologist at Martha's Vineyard Fisheries, Division of Marine Fisheries, Massachusetts. He's been keeping saltwater aquariums since childhood and has shared his extensive knowledge with viewers of National Geographic, the Discovery Channel, NBC's Today, and other media.
Did you now that a whale shark’s spots are as unique as a fingerprint? Or that sharks can go into a trance when flipped upside down? Jump into brand new facts about these fierce sea creatures. Dive deep into the world of sharks, the most fascinating and misunderstood marine animals on the planet, in this stunning new edition of the Shark Handbook. Featuring over 400 profiles of every shark in existence, from the first sharks living about 445 million years ago to the ones lurking in the ocean deep today! Starring spectacular, full-color photography that makes these jaw-dropping sharks come to life. This is the perfect gift for the shark enthusiast in your life!
Dr. Greg Skomal, PhD, is an experienced aquarist and Marine Fisheries Biologist at Martha's Vineyard Fisheries, Division of Marine Fisheries, Massachusetts. He's been keeping saltwater aquariums since childhood and has shared his extensive knowledge with viewers of National Geographic, the Discovery Channel, NBC's Today, and other media.
280 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2008
39 people are currently reading
225 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
November 3, 2022
Fantastic book for any audience to learn more about these fascinating creatures. Skomal goes into their biology and behavior, their conservation, and the amazing diversity among sharks.
September 5, 2012
This little -270 pages-, condensed book is a must have for every person interested in sharks. It has the perfect balance of scientific accuracy and everyday language that serves to fully explain the basics of shark natural history, anatomy and physiology. From there, if you have more interest in one specific subject, con can learn further with other sources. You can notice that the author have great knowledge, not just technical but in regards to handling and interacting with these fascinating creatures.
As in any other book about sharks, expect the chapter on attacks. I’ll give you a hint. You will find the same small probability of suffer one and the even lesser that it will be fatal, as in any other literature about this topic.
After reading this book you will be clear on how different and interesting are shark solutions to deal with the challenges the sea environment pose, compared to how other fish manage the same. You will also understand why these differences, as the breeding rate of sharks, make them more vulnerable to overfishing and other environmental threats.
The book includes a brief description of the different orders, families and some chosen species. There is more detail on the species that divers are more likely to encounter or that are more interesting, as the big filtering species , the strange cookie eater and the highly evolved hammerhead. There is a complete list of known shark species as an appendix.
The pictures are simply stunning, all of them from the same photographer, Nick Caloyianis, who has the honor to be the first person to film and photograph the incredible Greenland shark.
As in any other book about sharks, expect the chapter on attacks. I’ll give you a hint. You will find the same small probability of suffer one and the even lesser that it will be fatal, as in any other literature about this topic.
After reading this book you will be clear on how different and interesting are shark solutions to deal with the challenges the sea environment pose, compared to how other fish manage the same. You will also understand why these differences, as the breeding rate of sharks, make them more vulnerable to overfishing and other environmental threats.
The book includes a brief description of the different orders, families and some chosen species. There is more detail on the species that divers are more likely to encounter or that are more interesting, as the big filtering species , the strange cookie eater and the highly evolved hammerhead. There is a complete list of known shark species as an appendix.
The pictures are simply stunning, all of them from the same photographer, Nick Caloyianis, who has the honor to be the first person to film and photograph the incredible Greenland shark.
November 20, 2025
gotta give thanks to libro.fm and cider mill press for the early release alc, this was exactly what i wanted it to be, an informational book about sharks that didn’t feel like a textbook but like a conversation with a shark researcher. got to look at a physical copy while i was reading and loved the pictures!! if sharks are your special interest or if, like myself, you find yourself a little wary of them and want to understand more about them, this will put you at ease and tell you some cool facts too :)
May 3, 2018
I'm always stressing the importance of communication to my first-year composition students majoring in a scientific field, especially when speaking to laypeople. Though science is paramount to our understanding of the world, it is often maligned by the general population. I think that can be attributed, at least in part, to the inability of its practitioners to "dumb down" the language enough for others to understand it. In essence, they wind up talking to themselves and leaving everyone else alienated.
Dr. Greg Skomal is one of those rare exceptions. A marine biologist and expert on sharks, he strikes the perfect balance in this book. He's able to communicate in a manner that is accessible and interesting. He doesn't shy away from using the terminology of the field, but he is careful to define and explain it for those of us who may not know what a cloaca or a caudal peduncle is.
It's laid out as a handbook, and I will undoubtedly be referencing it numerous times as I continue my research. However, it's also worth plowing through cover to cover (at least until the appendices) as I have done. It's a fast read due to the abundance of full-color photographs, but it's also worth pausing on each page and taking in the beauty of these magnificent fish.
I didn't need another reason to love or appreciate sharks, but, thanks to Skomal, I have a deeper understanding of them. If anything, he's driven my fascination with them even further.
Dr. Greg Skomal is one of those rare exceptions. A marine biologist and expert on sharks, he strikes the perfect balance in this book. He's able to communicate in a manner that is accessible and interesting. He doesn't shy away from using the terminology of the field, but he is careful to define and explain it for those of us who may not know what a cloaca or a caudal peduncle is.
It's laid out as a handbook, and I will undoubtedly be referencing it numerous times as I continue my research. However, it's also worth plowing through cover to cover (at least until the appendices) as I have done. It's a fast read due to the abundance of full-color photographs, but it's also worth pausing on each page and taking in the beauty of these magnificent fish.
I didn't need another reason to love or appreciate sharks, but, thanks to Skomal, I have a deeper understanding of them. If anything, he's driven my fascination with them even further.
October 16, 2011
This is one of the two books I picked up in Wilmington. Dr. Skomal's shark guide is one of the nicest, most concise and most educational book on sharks I've seen, and it's well illustrated with the photography by Nick Caloyianis. The text is well written, even conversational, and the technical, scientific terms are explained well. I'd recommend this for 12 and older (younger is OK, if they have an interest in marine biology; if they can handle NOVA, they can handle this). I learned a lot of interesting things about sharks, such as good ways of telling the species apart, how the sharks are divided scientifically and that some sharks can actually control their own body temperature like mammals (Great Whites and Makos, for example). Also found it interesting that the three largest shark species -- the Whale shark, the Basking shark and the Megamouth shark -- are all plankton eaters. I found it fascinating that a shark's liver is used more to help provide bouyancy. My one quibble is in the descriptions on the shark's status as to whether they are threatened with extinction; the code the author uses is a bit confusing, and I wish the more standard critically endangered/endangered/threatened etc. would have been used. Otherwise, I think this book was worth every penny.
August 27, 2016
Turns out literally half of this book is appendix/charts/index/etc, so it's not nearly as long as it looks. The pictures are all in color, which is awesome. But I was looking for an in-depth coverage of all shark species that are known. While all the ones with names are listed, very few have info provided. Granted, that may be because none is known currently, but I guess I just didn't like the setup. Each section was divided into the genus and species and all that, but a general header of information was given at the start of each section, and the stats (like # pups, length of pregnancy, food type, etc) were so varied for each section that it seemed silly to list them where they were listed instead of adding them in to the smaller categories than orders. Nothing against the author of the book, though. I've seen some of the research he's doing on Shark Week, and really that's why I read the books in the first place; to see what kind of species have been discovered and what information there is about them, to help with conservation and things.
June 19, 2010
Lots of interesting information about sharks.Good for people who want to learn more about shark anatomy.
September 18, 2023
Every year during Shark Week, I see many programs with the author being interviewed for his expertise in the shark world. The handbook he has now authored is very thorough and full of great photos that illustrate the facts he shares throughout; not to mention all the photos of different species (who knew there were that many!). A great read for the shark fanatic or anyone wanting accurate, fun facts.
July 30, 2023
Ba...dum, ba...dum...bump, bump, bump, bump....
If you are ever attacked by a shark (which isn't likely), you will never see it coming. Forget about seeing that dorsal fin extending out of the water.
This was a quick factoid-filled, gorgeously illustrated book about an amazing fish.
If you are ever attacked by a shark (which isn't likely), you will never see it coming. Forget about seeing that dorsal fin extending out of the water.
This was a quick factoid-filled, gorgeously illustrated book about an amazing fish.
July 23, 2017
I might be slightly biased because Greg is my graduate advisor, but this book is an excellently written and accessible shark biology resource for non-scientists.
August 28, 2024
I love learning about sharks 🦈
October 20, 2024
I love sharmk
July 21, 2025
As expected for any handbook, not lots of depth but a good amount of breadth. A great reference source, seems to cover all the basics, and a great companion for Shark Week. Also, great pics.
December 24, 2020
This handbook on sharks is a good way to convey the diversity of sharks out there, how little we know about so many of these species, and to spike interested budding biologists to learn more about their favorite sharks after reading this. However, I was distracted by poor formatting choices, flippant writing style, and easy typos, which prevent me from giving this work higher stars than I have.
The biggest strength of this handbook is found in its first half, which discusses various shark characteristics. Topics describe shark evolution, the anatomy of sharks, the life history of sharks, shark conservation and use, shark attacks, and shark classification. It is in these chapters where readers learn the most valuable information. The discussions are interesting, the content thought-provoking, and the inclusion of photographs and the one info-graphic are pertinent to the surrounding prose.
However, this book really falls apart in the second half, which is supposed to be a listing of key shark families and species. Why chapters 7 through 11 are structured the way that they are is not properly explained, because the list of species in the Appendix provides sharks in a different order than how they are presented in the immediately preceding chapters. As such, while I understand that there are space and information limitations which prevented this publication from presenting what science knows about each shark species, the ones that are presented are given to us in such a sloppy manner that I come away more confused than informed. There is no cladogram or explanation of how these different sharks are classified in relation to one another, and there are no maps which explain any of their distribution history. The Appendix lists species by classification, scientific name, and common name, but there are no quality graphs or diagrams of any kind in order to convey more specifically how sharks are related to one another either genetically or via ecological niche.
Furthermore, there seems to be little rhyme or reason to which photographs were included and which were not, apart from probably the fact of whichever were the easiest to get copyright printing permissions from. I understand that approach, as someone who has worked in independent and scientific publishing before. However, I thought it was a gross misuse of printing quota and page layout space with little information gained on the part of the reader. A handbook about sharks is supposed to inform audiences about the different species of sharks discussed, but many of the photographs were low quality features of the most popular sharks that kids and young enthusiasts would already be familiar with. For example, the nurse shark and carpetshark images are from different angles and either too far away or too close up in order to properly use these images in order to identify a shark as one or the other in the field. And for a cookiecutter shark, which has an extremely unique jaw and teeth structure, did no one make any effort to include any photo of the cookiecutter shark at all in a book that describes them?? "Most definitive field guide on sharks" my ASS.
I really expected much higher quality work from Dr. Greg Skomal, a leading New England shark researcher who has published widely and been featured on "Shark Week" many times. Perhaps many of the frustrations I found with this book are due to poor publication output and inappropriate marketing strategy, not due to the author's contributions. I would say this is a good book for those already obsessed with sharks or a young enthusiast wanting more photos of sharks than the one great white shark book he or she already has, or something like that. This could be fun to flip through for those in college or graduate school studying or otherwise interested in sharks, but I do not see this as becoming a valuable reference guide with a long shelf life.
I learned some useful information from this! Sharks are awesome and need to be studied more! I just think my hunt for a quality and comprehensive handbook/field guide on sharks is still ongoing.
The biggest strength of this handbook is found in its first half, which discusses various shark characteristics. Topics describe shark evolution, the anatomy of sharks, the life history of sharks, shark conservation and use, shark attacks, and shark classification. It is in these chapters where readers learn the most valuable information. The discussions are interesting, the content thought-provoking, and the inclusion of photographs and the one info-graphic are pertinent to the surrounding prose.
However, this book really falls apart in the second half, which is supposed to be a listing of key shark families and species. Why chapters 7 through 11 are structured the way that they are is not properly explained, because the list of species in the Appendix provides sharks in a different order than how they are presented in the immediately preceding chapters. As such, while I understand that there are space and information limitations which prevented this publication from presenting what science knows about each shark species, the ones that are presented are given to us in such a sloppy manner that I come away more confused than informed. There is no cladogram or explanation of how these different sharks are classified in relation to one another, and there are no maps which explain any of their distribution history. The Appendix lists species by classification, scientific name, and common name, but there are no quality graphs or diagrams of any kind in order to convey more specifically how sharks are related to one another either genetically or via ecological niche.
Furthermore, there seems to be little rhyme or reason to which photographs were included and which were not, apart from probably the fact of whichever were the easiest to get copyright printing permissions from. I understand that approach, as someone who has worked in independent and scientific publishing before. However, I thought it was a gross misuse of printing quota and page layout space with little information gained on the part of the reader. A handbook about sharks is supposed to inform audiences about the different species of sharks discussed, but many of the photographs were low quality features of the most popular sharks that kids and young enthusiasts would already be familiar with. For example, the nurse shark and carpetshark images are from different angles and either too far away or too close up in order to properly use these images in order to identify a shark as one or the other in the field. And for a cookiecutter shark, which has an extremely unique jaw and teeth structure, did no one make any effort to include any photo of the cookiecutter shark at all in a book that describes them?? "Most definitive field guide on sharks" my ASS.
I really expected much higher quality work from Dr. Greg Skomal, a leading New England shark researcher who has published widely and been featured on "Shark Week" many times. Perhaps many of the frustrations I found with this book are due to poor publication output and inappropriate marketing strategy, not due to the author's contributions. I would say this is a good book for those already obsessed with sharks or a young enthusiast wanting more photos of sharks than the one great white shark book he or she already has, or something like that. This could be fun to flip through for those in college or graduate school studying or otherwise interested in sharks, but I do not see this as becoming a valuable reference guide with a long shelf life.
I learned some useful information from this! Sharks are awesome and need to be studied more! I just think my hunt for a quality and comprehensive handbook/field guide on sharks is still ongoing.
July 12, 2013
This was a really great book from start to finish. The cover image of the shark surrounded by this sort of column of fish was just fantastic and spoke to such a sense of action. The colors are cool and vibrant, and it just seemed cooler than a lot of the other books on the topic.
The book itself was by no means a let-down. There was a ton of information about every shark imaginable, including sharks I had not previously heard of. The pictures are crisp and well-composed, sure to capture the eye and imagination of any young oceanographer. In the back there are pages of additional, much more technical shark info, which could prove to be a gold-mine when class project time rolls around. Since I have two daughters who always want the best for their projects, I will do well to remember this book should the opportunity arise.
Reading this book would be a great way to gear up for Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, especially if your family is as ravenous about it as mine is. We would be pleased if it was Shark Month! It could even be used as a guide during the actual programs, since any shark featured therein will very likely be found in this handy book.
The book itself was by no means a let-down. There was a ton of information about every shark imaginable, including sharks I had not previously heard of. The pictures are crisp and well-composed, sure to capture the eye and imagination of any young oceanographer. In the back there are pages of additional, much more technical shark info, which could prove to be a gold-mine when class project time rolls around. Since I have two daughters who always want the best for their projects, I will do well to remember this book should the opportunity arise.
Reading this book would be a great way to gear up for Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, especially if your family is as ravenous about it as mine is. We would be pleased if it was Shark Month! It could even be used as a guide during the actual programs, since any shark featured therein will very likely be found in this handy book.
October 7, 2014
Excellent book on sharks! Whether you want to dive with sharks or just learn more about these magnificent animals, this is a great choice! There is tons of information without being overly scientific. The types of sharks shown are the most common or the strangest, though all known types are listed. If you want photos of every type, this is not the book for you. Highly recommend to shark enthusiasts!
November 13, 2013
Dr.Greg Skomal knows what he is talking about and has a very good understanding of sharks. He has inspired me to become a marine biologist in the future. The book gave me a lot of factual info to hep me if I am to be a marine biologist.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews