Twelve Days of Terror: A Definitive Investigation of the 1916 New Jersey Shark Attacks [Paperback]

Richard G. Fernicola (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1585745758 | ISBN-13: 978-1585745753 | Publication Date: May 2, 2002 | Edition: 1st

In July 1916, with the specter of American involvement in World War I on the horizon and New York City in the throes of a deadly polio epidemic, the tri-state population thronged the Jersey shore in search of a respite from the stifling midsummer heat. The Atlantic's refreshing waters proved to be utterly inhospitable, however. In a shockingly brief span of just twelve days, four swimmers were violently and fatally mauled by a marauding shark (or school of sharks), and a fifth was seriously injured, escaping within inches of his life. By the third week in July, national newspapers were headlining reports of "Battles Against Man-Eating Sharks" above the battles of war across the ocean. In this thoroughly researched account, Dr. Richard Fernicola, the leading expert on the attacks, presents a riveting portrait of these twelve days of terror against the colorful backdrop of America in 1916. With the perspicacity of a private eye, he immerses himself in the specifics of the events as he carefully examines clues and reconstructs evidence to resolve what scientists have been arguing over for decades. Was a rogue shark or a school of sharks responsible? Was it a bull shark or a great white shark? Was the shark's motivation hunger or fear? Through primary sources and face-to-face interviews with witnesses, Fernicola pieces together a conclusive, if controversial, theory regarding the character and cause of these mysterious attacks. Part fascinating social history, part spellbinding detective story, Twelve Days of Terror is one of those rare books that proves truth can be stranger, more dramatic, and more terrifying than fiction. (6 x 9, 368 pages, b&w photos, illustrations)

Richard G. Fernicola is recognized as the foremost authority on the New Jersey shark attacks of 1916. His research became the basis for the highly acclaimed television documentaries Legends of Killer Sharks and Shark Attack: 1916, which aired on the Discovery Channel and The History Channel. He is also actively involved in the preservation and rescue of marine mammals.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In July 1916, a time of record-setting heat and a raging polio epidemic, beachgoers along the New Jersey shore confronted a greater terror still: lurking in the water swam a shark, or perhaps several sharks, that had apparently developed a taste for human flesh. Within less than two weeks, the offending fish killed four swimmers and badly injured another, setting off a wave of panic that kept visitors well out of the water and threatened the state's thriving tourist economy.

Officials were quick to react. President Woodrow Wilson, himself from New Jersey, sought and received $5,000 from Congress to eradicate the villain. Unsure of which species was to blame, commercial fishermen and state police alike destroyed every shark they encountered, while some conspiracy-minded journalists hinted that the attacks had somehow been triggered by German U-boats plying the waters off New Jersey.

Those strange events of 1916 are not much remembered today, except, perhaps, by fans of Peter Benchley's novel Jaws, whose origin lies in the attacks. Richard Fernicola revives the incident with this thoroughgoing investigation, which offers solid information on the natural history and behavior of the many shark species that populate the Atlantic, and which hazards educated guesses as to which kind of shark did the fatal mischief--and why. --Gregory McNamee --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Beginning July 1, 1916, a spate of shark attacks off the Jersey shore befuddled maritime experts and terrified the public. In the first incident, an unsuspecting vacationer's thigh was bitten off; he eventually died. Over the next 12 days, three more people were killed and another seriously injured. These two books by New Jersey authors re-create differing theories as to who, and what, was responsible for the carnage, a subject that scientists still debate today. Philadelphia Inquirer journalist Capuzzo (nominated four times for a Pulitzer) unwaveringly adheres to the most popular theory (that a single, juvenile great white shark was responsible for all the carnage), but his book's strength lies in its lively reconstruction of the age and its consciousness, in which a new leisure class was emerging, with many of its members venturing into the ocean for the first time. (He also recounts the shark's movements and supposed feelings from an omniscient, third-person perspective to strained, unintentionally comical and inevitably misleading effect.) The encounters between people and sharks make for some tense and gruesome reading, and the rest of the book is equally page-turning: the zeal to find the "Jersey man-eater," the sensational "feeding frenzy" of the press and the befuddlement of a scientific community, which then devoutly believed that sharks did not bite humans. On that last front, Fernicola, a physician specializing in post-stroke and post-injury recovery, adds to his own investigation of this episode an exhaustive review of shark science today and theories of shark aggression toward humans, including possible environmental factors (heat, changes in human bathing habits, even bathing suit styles), speculations on the perpetrator's exact species, and well-reasoned arguments and conclusions. Fernicola is a recognized authority on the 1916 attacks (his work has provided the basis for Discovery Channel and History Channel documentaries on the subject), but he marshals so much data that his book fails to live up to its lurid title, giving its looming competitor the edge. (May; Capuzzo on-sale: May 8) Forecast: With bathing suit season just around the corner, these books are well timed. Fernicola's, which will be the subject of an upcoming spread in USA Today and is scheduled for coverage on Good Day New York, will provide grist to shark enthusiasts and fans of the Jaws films. Lyons Press has high hopes for its book and has committed to an unprecedented (for this house) 50,000 first printing. Capuzzo will tour six major cities on both coasts, along with stops on Cape Cod and, of course, the Jersey shore. His compulsive potboiler just may be the hot read on the beach this summer.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Lyons Press; 1st edition (May 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585745758
• ISBN-13: 978-1585745753
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #781,812 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome.....Reads like a Novel!, May 12, 2001

By 

Shogun Len "tokieyasu" (Arizona) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Twelve Days of Terror: A Definitive Investigation of the 1916 New Jersey Shark Attacks (Hardcover)

I was always interested in the story of a Great White Shark attack along the Jersey Shore. It is mentioned in all the shark books, referenced in Jaws, and shown on the Discovery channel. It is a story I have always been interested but could never find any whole books about. And what did I see in the book store??? Not one but TWO books on the subject.

So now the the question was which one to buy. I read parts of both and quickly discovered that Dr. Fernicola clearly seemed to know more about sharks and the subject. Not to knock the other book, but Fernicola's book shows a deeper knowledge of sharks and the incident of 1916.

Needless to say, it only took 3 days to read this entire book. It is so interesting. He does a great job describing the times and historical background. He does a great job telling about the attacks. He does a great job discussing sharks and theories about sharks.

The book is well written. It has great information on the 1916 attacks and the times they took place in. It is also a great lesson on sharks in general.

I have family on the Jersey shore and it amazes me that this could take place there. Plus in a creek miles from the ocean...YIKES!

This was a book I read cover to cover and immmediatly passed on to friends.

Anyone who likes sharks, shark week on TV, or JAWS will love this book.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Twelve Days of Terror: Twenty Years of Research, May 16, 2001

By 

Jim Foley (Oakhurst, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Twelve Days of Terror: A Definitive Investigation of the 1916 New Jersey Shark Attacks (Hardcover)

During the summer of 1916 five people were attacked by a shark (or sharks) along the coast of New Jersey's Monmouth and Ocean Counties. Four of those five, including a 12-year old boy, were killed. The fifth victim narrowly escaped the jaws of death, suffering severe wounds to his leg.

These freak attacks occured within 12 days of each other during a time in American history when the foremost expers believed that sharks did not possess the necessary strength to break a human bone...Panic and near hysteria followed...

Sixty-five years after the attacks, a young college student heard about the attacks during a train ride home for the holidays. The incident of the attacks and the contraversy between the leading shark experts piqued his interest. Curiosity developed into passion and that passion for the answer resulted in twenty years of investigating and a book that is one of the most thoroughly researched accountings I have ever read.

Twelve Days of Terror is a novel, a diary, a medical journal, a detective story, and most assuredly the definitive investigation of the New Jersey shark attacks of 1916. The author utilized his medical school training in evaluating the evidence and spent countless hours interviewing eye-witnesses to the tragic events. Unfortunately, those eye-witnesses are now all gone, but for the field notes of the author, their story was doomed never to be told. This book is a MUST for every beach-goer this summer. It will not only intimately acquaint the reader with everything they wanted to know about shark attacks, but it will also provide a rare glimpse into the behind-the-scene politics and social aspects of the early 20th century.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Facinating...don't read this at the beach, May 21, 2001

By 

Mary G. Longorio "Texasbookgirl" (Eagle Mountain, UT) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Twelve Days of Terror: A Definitive Investigation of the 1916 New Jersey Shark Attacks (Hardcover)

The shark attacks off the New Jersey shore were doomed to fade into almost urban mythology. Richard Fernicola has painstakingly researched the twelve days of horror that held a nation in its grip. The first strike, July 1 was on an unsuspecting Charles Vansant, in which eyewitnesses report the agressor shark actually held on,and or followed its prey into the shallows. Fernicola has gathered all the available accounts (since eyewitnesses were dead, he turned to family members, newspaper archives and books)and has pieced together an account of the mounting terror until July 12, the deadliest day (two killed and one maimed) and last reported killings. This is an engrossing look into a time when not much was known about sharks and when newspapers were depended upon to deliver the news. It also gives a detailed look into sharks and their history as man eaters. The most interesting portion of the book, after the actual accounting of the people involved and the attacks themselves, is the medical renderings of each victim's wounds and an accounting of the actual cause of death. This is an engrossing book, and it is well researched. It is a time capsule of sorts, reopening the time when there was belief that a mackeral had inflicted the wounds, that the Germans were attracting the sharks with some new secret gadget, when a day at the beach was a simple day at the beach.