I loved this book! It was scary, sad, and amazing. Bless those people who put their lives on the line to further an understanding of nature.

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If you like non-fiction, this is a great book. Reads easily and very informative about great white sharks. I didn't even know I was interested in them until I read this book!

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I and all my neighbors really liked this book, a true account of people on the Farallons studying great white sharks. Well written, interesting, exciting at times. Makes you want to go there!

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What an amazing book!! I admit that I always have been a huge shark enthusiast, and that's what initially drew me to this. When I started reading it, I wasn't sure if it was going to be one of those non-fiction books that just drags or if I'd even be able to finish it, but I was very pleasantly surprised. It's an interesting story that follows her experiences on the Farallones and also stealthily integrates some interesting island history as well as shark facts. I would definitely recommend it for anyone interested in sharks or really anyone who's open to reading a book that's a little different and also teaches you some things. Very well done. I think I may add it to my permanent collection. :)

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For a book that's supposed to be about Great White sharks, there aren't a lot of Great White sharks in it. Although it's well-written, it was disappointing. Too much moaning and complaining about living conditions; too much about marine birds; too much about boat operations and weather conditions; far too little about sharks.

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I was really looking forward to reading this book. I'd read a glowing review of it, and who doesn't like Great White Sharks? However, the sharks were only incidental to the story, which wound up to be an account of a woman's selfishness. The author cost one naturalist his job and lost another man's 60 ft. yacht at sea, all due to her obsession with getting out to the Farallon Islands. The Farallones are rigorously protected, and she was allowed only one officially-sanctioned trip. The rest of the book was about her determination to get back on the islands, sanctioned or not. The background information on the Farallones was pretty interesting, but I wouldn't recommend this book to anybody interested in sharks.

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I enjoyed this book -- it was very well written. I don't know that I learned that much about shark behavior but I learned alot about the Farallone Islands and the life of scientists of nature whether it be sharks, seals or birds. Quite an adventure story. Highly recommended.

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This book was amazing! I love how Susan Casey gets you to feel like your sitting next to her watching everything happen. Love it!!!

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Since the Farallone Islands became a National Wildlife Refuge in 1969, the mammals such as seals and the nesting birds have prospered, and their numbers attract sharks. Little is known about the Great White Shark but scientists have found identifiable individuals returning here year after year.
Because of the controversy over shark cage recreation enterprise and other matters, the author only was given a one week permit to go ashore. As an experienced reporter, she had done her homework and elicited good interviews from the biologists. This is a lengthy book offering much local color because she describes in detail meetings ashore and the like.
I myself was interested in the geography and history of this very bleak place so near to San Francisco and only in passing interested in the Great White Sharks. For a reading classroom, Chapter Three could be offered to students interested in the history of the Farallones to read and discuss (10pts), covering the times of the egg hunters to the unsustainable ideas for utilizing these desolate islands (that remain a hazard to naviagation) that were put forth in the mid-20th Century. Chapter Three pp. 75-97 plus today's geography pp. 108-119.
There is only a token biography and no footnotes.

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Very interesting read.

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Interesting read.

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I was mesmerized by this book for the first two-thirds. But then it started to be more about the author's very presence on the island (unsanctioned by the authorities) than about the sharks, and she started losing me.

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