Description: During the summer before the United States entered World War I, Americans were abruptly introduced to the terror of sharks. In July 1916, a lone great white left its usual deep ocean habitat and headed in the direction of the New Jersey shore-line. There, near the towns of Beach Haven and Spring Lake -- and, incredibly, a farming community eleven miles inland -- the most ferocious and unpredictable of predators began a deadly rampage: the first shark attacks on swimmers in U.S. history.

Interweaving a vivid portrait of the Gilded Age and meticulously drawn characters, as well as chilling accounts of the shark's five attacks and the frenzied hunt that ensued, Michael Capuzzo has created a nonfiction historical thriller with the texture of Ragtime and the tension of Jaws. From the unnerving inevitability of the initial attack just off a resort-front beach to the spine-tingling moment when a farm boy swimming in a creek feels the sandpaperlike skin of the passing shark, Close to Shore is an undeniably gripping saga. Heightening the drama are stories of the resulting panic in the citizenry, press, and politicians, and of the Museum of Natural History scientist faced with the challenge of stopping a mythic sea creature about which little was known. Combining rich historical detail and a harrowing, pulse-pounding narrative, Close to Shore brings to life a breathtaking moment in American history.

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