Adventures With Sharks [Hardcover]

Jonathan Bird (Author), Best Publishing Company (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2003

Written by an admitted "shark junkie" Jonathan Bird is also a professional underwater photographer who just happens to be fascinated by sharks. In this exciting photographic journey, the author shares his adventures and discoveries photographing sharks around the world. He details the thrills, dangers and disappointments of working with wild sharks in the open ocean and beyond.

Accompanied by more than one hundred vivid color photographs, "Adventures With Sharks" is an uncommonly fun-to-read mixture of science, adventure and stunning photographs. Reading this book is better than a Discovery Channel documentary! It is a technically accurate yet light-hearted portrayal of these sinister marine creatures. In the details of his adventures the author states, "These experiences have never diminished my passion for sharks, but remind me that sharks are predators, and yes, they can eat you!"

Editorial Reviews

Review

Picturesque journey that tells a story with words and underwater photography, it details thrills, science and facts for all ages! -- Dive Training Magazine

From the Author

After many years of working with sharks for television documentaries and magazine articles, I have collected many interesting anecdotes and a large number of powerful images. One day I realized how much people enjoy hearing my stories about working with different kinds of sharks--like the time I almost got my hand bitten off by a Caribbean Reef shark, or the time I discovered lampreys parasitizing Basking sharks. Suddenly, it seemed obvious that I should write a book about my experiences, blending the stories and the pictures I had accumulated with some science about sharks. I checked out shark titles available at the bookstore and realized that there wasn't anything like this out there. Most shark books are either picture books or just filled with a lot of factual tidbits--not very exciting to read. "Adventures with Sharks" seemlessly blends science and adventure with a lot of great pictures. It's the kind of book that's hard to put down, and readers will definitely do more than just look at the pictures.

"Adventures with Sharks" is written in language that is suitable and engaging for readers from 8 to 80. Anyone who loves sharks or the ocean will surely enjoy this book! Also, the publisher has produced a brilliant, full-color hard-cover book that looks like it should cost $50, but actually only costs $19.95.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 141 pages
• Publisher: Best Pub. Co. (August 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1930536070
• ISBN-13: 978-1930536074
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,548,507 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One very kewl book!!!, September 30, 2003

By 

"gbrunshidl" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Adventures With Sharks (Hardcover)

I received my copy of Jonathan Bird's Adventures With Sharks right before a planned visit to my brother and his family. I took the book along thinking that maybe my 9-year-old nephew might take an interest. I don't get to see him very often but I know that his world revolves around dinosaurs, B-B guns, and Pokemon. Being my only nephew, I've held the hope that someday he'd learn to scuba diving and be a dive buddy. Sitting down near him with the book while he was watching a cartoon, he quickly noticed the photo on the cover. "That's a Great White shark, isn't it?" he asked. "Sure is" I answered, "what do you know about them" I asked as he moved over and sat next to me. We began thumbing through the pictures and he was hooked. I asked him if he wanted to read a story with me and told him he could choose which one. He flipped to the back cover photo of the ragged toothed Sand Tiger shark and said he wanted to read about that one. I read to him the story about the author's adventure with the Sand Tigers of North Carolina and stopping from time to time to discuss some of the science, biology, and behavior. At the end of the story, he asked if I had ever dove with Sand Tiger sharks, and I told him no but that maybe someday he and I could make a road trip to North Carolina and dive with them together. It's hard to imagine anything making me a cooler uncle than Mr. Bird's book had at that moment.

I can't recommend it highly enough!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Adventues with Sharks" is amazing, September 23, 2003

By 

Stefan Arnold "stefan-anne" (Burlington, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Adventures With Sharks (Hardcover)

"Adventures with Sharks" is both entertaining and informative, and I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in sharks or the undersea world in general. Sharks have simultaneously frightened and fascinated humans for years, but the author, Jonathan Bird, carefully explains how these marine predators, honed by millions of years of evolution, are largely misunderstood by people. Bird has traveled the world to dive with a variety of shark species and presents his exciting experiences in an easy-to-read style accompanied by many stunning pictures. The photographs are outstanding - well composed and clearly chosen to illustrate the beauty and behavior of these remarkable animals.

Each chapter is a story about Bird's experiences diving with a particular species of shark, from the sleek and graceful Blue Shark, to the mammoth yet harmless Whale Shark, to the infamous Great White, and many others. There are lots of great facts and details about what science knows, and has yet to learn, about these incredible creatures. I came away from the book with a new appreciation for sharks - in particular their diversity and the adaptations they have evolved to survive in a wide variety of environments and conditions. I also learned about the vulnerability of many shark species to over-fishing and other human practices that threaten their very survival. If you like sharks, want to learn more about them, or just enjoy a good adventure story, then this book is for you!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great shark photos and stories, September 15, 2003

By 

Gayle A. Orner "Shark Lover" (Corvallis, OR USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Adventures With Sharks (Hardcover)

In "Adventures with Sharks" underwater photographer Jonathan Bird manages to combine spectactular photographs with exciting tales of his personal shark encounters. Somehow, he also slips in lots of details on shark biology, so that the reader comes away with a far greater understanding of these magnificant creatures. I'm anxiously awaiting his next book!