Shark Week discussion

This thread is for discussion of Part Two of Close to Shore: The Terrifying Shark Attacks of 1916, "A Reign of Terror," running from the chapter "Screams for Rescue," through "Disporting in a Perfect Surf." Spoilers up through the end of Part Two are welcome here. First person to comment please give a synopsis of Part Two.

Screams for Rescue: A female "bather," Gertrude Schuyler is yanked underwater but survives a near drowning.

Fears Only Thinly Veiled: Antiquity had ample warnings about sea monsters but the modern American is in denial about the danger of white sharks.

Independence Day: By the time ex-president Taft spoke at the Spring Lake beach resort near the Essex and Sussex hotel, most people relaxed and figured Vansant's death wasn't caused by a shark.

The Distance Swimmers: President Wilson's family is vacationing in Spring Lake. Separately, two men, Dowling and Hill, swim out from the shore.

To Find Prey: The swimmers aren't eaten.

The Red Canoe: Charles Bruder, bell captain, swims gracefully 1,200 feet from shore when attacked from the depths, making the water around him resemble a red canoe.

The Grande Dame: Mrs. Childs of Philadelphia watches on.

The Scientist: Dr. Nichols, ichthyologist, pronounces the probable cause of Bruder's death a killer whale.

Arrival of a Man-Eater: The shark swims away but as Bruder's death sinks in and the morning news is published, the nation's first shark panic ignites.

Myths of Antiquity: Nichols's mentor, Dr. Lucas, is accosted by reporters at the American Museum of Natural History. Lucas pooh-poohs the shark theory of Bruder's death.

A Long-Range Cruising Rogue: Dr. Coppleson, an Australian surgeon, begins writing about attacks by rogue sharks in 1922 and expounds on his theory of rogue sharks for the next 25 years. It eventually gained some currency but the experts have since pooh-poohed it.

Great Many Bathers Are Rather Scarce: Spring Lake's men react by installing fences or nets and launching boat patrols.

Disporting in a Perfect Surf: Bathers wade back into the water but not very far out. Hugh Smith, director of the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, blames Bruder's death on a swordfish.

Finished part 2. Getting some serious Jaws vibes now.

Dennis wrote: "Finished part 2. Getting some serious Jaws vibes now."

Agreed. Though Hooper seemed more knowledgeable about sharks than these 1916 knuckleheads. Blaming orcas & swordfish? For scientists these guys sure seemed determined to ignore the physical evidence as well as eye-witness accounts.

Well, the general level of schooling / knowledge in 1916 was vastly different from when Hooper needed a bigger boat. ;)

Trish wrote: "Well, the general level of schooling / knowledge in 1916 was vastly different from when Hooper needed a bigger boat. ;)"

Yes, and what was irritating was the smugness of the scientists back then. From the book it seemed pretty clear that fishermen, sailors, and ordinary people believed that sharks could be dangerous and attack people. Australians knew it already as well. But American experts dismissed all this as superstition and undocumented or irrelevant to the mid-Atlantic.

Yeah, that definitely didn't help. Though if we look at the situation, especially in Australia, nowadays ... where culling is a sanctioned option ... *grumbles*

This book has so much lard. What was the point of the chapter about Gertrude Schuyler?? What a red herring.

I feel like Capuzzo researched the area & time period and then just included EVERYTHING, whether it was important to the main plot or not.


But, yeah, serious Jaws vibes, with the mayors of Beach Haven & Asbury Park not wanting to close the beaches and all that. However, this was written AFTER Jaws and I wonder how influenced he was by that book? Maybe he included some tidbits BECAUSE they gave Jaws vibe, and left out others because they did not support his Jaws-centric narrative.


I don’t know if this was in Part 2 or Part 3, but I liked the reflection that everyone in the US was skeptical of sharks being dangerous to people, but everyone in the rest of the world (namely: Australia) was fully on board with sharks being dangerous.

I also like all the info on shark senses, how they can see above the surface of water, hear things we cannot, etc.

And why were some scientists & fishermen so insistent that the attack must have been from a sea turtle or swordfish???? Do swordfish ever attack people??? I googled and found NO reports of unprovoked attacks on humans by swordfish or sea turtles.


I mean, sharks look scary with all those teeth, right? Why were people reluctant to believe a shark attack?

Well, if we‘re being honest, there is no UNprovoked shark attack either. It‘s people behaving wrong in their territory like that guy going for a swim in South Africa during his honeymoon because someone told him that Great Whites had young ones there and he wanted to see one. Or people swimming in the wrong place at the wrong time of day (same thing often happens with crocs in rivers in Australia). *rolls eyes*

But yeah, from today‘s perspective, it‘s weird that they were reluctant to believe a shark had attacked. Too bad we lost that attitude and turned it a 180.

Nadine in NY wrote: "But, yeah, serious Jaws vibes, with the mayors of Beach Haven & Asbury Park not wanting to close the beaches and all that. However, this was written AFTER Jaws and I wonder how influenced he was by that book? Maybe he included some tidbits BECAUSE they gave Jaws vibe, and left out others because they did not support his Jaws-centric narrative...."

Very shrewd point, Nadine!

Trish wrote: "Well, if we‘re being honest, there is no UNprovoked shark attack either. It‘s people behaving wrong in their territory like that guy going for a swim in South Africa during his honeymoon because so..."



I think you are splitting hairs here. By “unprovoked” I of course mean “the human was not attacking or trying to trap or catch the fish.” If a surfer is out in the water and attacked by a shark - which we all know happens with some frequency - that is “unprovoked.” Sure, the ocean is the shark’s “territory.” And yes sharks existed on this planet before humans, but we have existed on this planet a long time now along with many other animals. Humans have been swimming in the breakers and boating in the oceans since the times of prehistory, so it’s human’s “territory” too. Surfing is an ancient activity. And I have not found any evidence of sea turtles or swordfish attacking surfers.

That's because sea turtles or swordfish aren't predators the way sharks are. I just dislike that natural "it's our world" view many humans have. Sharks "see" many things with their mouth, they test bite, they get startled or are curious for other reasons - or defensive because of their young. There are so many ways incidents could be prevented but instead, WE keep on doing what we've bene doing because we think we have a right and if a shark dares attack (which doesn't happen nearly as often as deadly incidents with SLUGS by the way - yes, I looked it up), most countries' response is a culling or at least a big hunt. It's disgusting! So no, I'm not splitting hairs, I'm just team shark. *shrugs*

About a third of the way through Part 2 so far...

Russ wrote: "...For scientists these guys sure seemed determined to ignore the physical evidence as well as eye-witness accounts."

It's interesting how "science" was thought of in almost a religious tone, and how humankind smugly felt like it had solved all the mysteries of the Earth. I recently read This Thing of Darkness by Harry Thompson, an amazing historical novel which includes the 2nd voyage of the HMS Beagle with its soon to be famous passenger Charles Darwin. The aftermath of the expedition really illuminated how shocking Darwin's discoveries and theories were at the time. Close to Shore mentions Darwin and "survival of the fittest" a few times in Part 1. The attack at the end of Part 1 was the first ever recorded shark attack in the USA; very few prior attacks had been recorded other than those of sailors who also complained of mermaids and kraken. So I guess because it had never happened before, everyone assumed it could never happen.

RJ - Slayer of Trolls wrote: "So I guess because it had never happened before, everyone assumed it could never happen...."

They certainly assumed wrong. Changes over time in temperatures, currents, and habitats? Ignored. Documented shark attacks in Australia? Dismissed. Anecdotes from sailors and fishermen? Mocked.

Though I'll give Dr. Lucas credit for two things (one from later that I won't spoil here). At least he dispatched Dr. Nichols to the scene. The other experts seemed content to stay in their big city offices and blame other marine species from afar.

I finished Part 2, now on to Part 3.

I was good to finally get to the "action" parts of the book. As mentioned previously, the historical perspective was nice but a little overwhelming in Part 1.