Books & Movies for Shark Week

Are you a fan of Discovery Channel's Shark Week? This year Shark Week, which aims to clear up misconceptions about sharks and promote oceanic conservation, will begin on Sunday, July 23. This year the Discover Channel hopes to finally answer the question everyone's been wondering: Is Michael Phelps faster than a shark? But if Shark Week just leaves you hungry for more sharks, MHL has got you covered. Take a bite out of these books and movies!

Books for Shark Week

Shark drunk : the art of catching a large shark from a tiny rubber dinghy in a big ocean through four seasons
by Morten Andreas Strøksnes

In the great depths surrounding the Lofoten islands in Norway lives the infamous Greenland shark. At twenty-six feet in length and weighing more than a ton, it is truly a beast to behold. But the shark is not just known for its size alone: its meat contains a toxin that, when consumed, has been known to make people drunk and hallucinatory. Shark Drunk is the true story of two friends, the author and the eccentric artist Hugo Aasjord, as they embark on a wild pursuit of the famed creature--from a tiny rubber boat. Together, the two men tackle existential questions, survive the world's most powerful maelstrom, and, yes, get drunk, as they attempt to understand the ocean from every possible angle, drawing on poetry, science, history, ecology, mythology, and their own, sometimes intoxicated, observations.

438 days : an extraordinary true story of survival at sea
by Jonathan Franklin

Based on interviews with the man who survived alone and adrift at sea longer than anyone in recorded history and interviews with his colleagues, an epic tale of survival chronicles Salvador Alvarenga's 14 months at sea during which he imagined a method of survival that kept his body and mind intact until he was rescued.

Close to shore : the terrifying shark attacks of 1916
by Mike Capuzzo

Offers the true story of the great white shark attacks that took place in unusual areas at the Jersey Shore that changed the way people viewed these powerful animals and the havoc they were able to cause so close to land.

The shark and the albatross : a wildlife filmmaker reveals why nature matters to us all
by John Aitchison

A wildlife cinematographer describes some of his travels, including the triumphs and disasters of the animals and of the author.

Surviving the shark : how a brutal great white attack turned a surfer into a dedicated defender of sharks
by Jonathan Kathrein

Describes the author's shark attack experience, how he escaped and survived, and how the event shaped his life and made him a champion for the shark conservation effort.

The shark club
by Ann Kidd Taylor

Nearly two decades after surviving a shark attack in the Gulf of Mexico, a world-traveling marine biologist and respected "shark whisperer" harbors private insecurities that compel her to return to her Florida coast home to explore old and new relationships. A first novel by the best-selling co-author of Traveling With Pomegranates.

Shark : stories of life and death from the world's most dangerous waters
by Nathaniel May

A collection of chilling stories about human interaction with the great predators of the sea offers chilling chronicles of human-shark encounters in such works as Peter Matthiessen on the great white shark, Edward Marriott on hunting maneaters off Nicaragua, Jacques Cousteau's studies of shark behavior, and Richard Fernicola's account of the 1916 shark attacks off the New Jersey coast.

Shark life : true stories about sharks & the sea
by Karen Wojtyla

The author of Jaws offers a comprehensive and informative guide to these incredible creatures through a review of the different types of sharks that exist, their swimming patterns in relation to the tides, and the common behaviors and traits they share.

Soul surfer : a true story of faith, family, and fighting to get back on the board
by Bethany Hamilton

The teenage surfer who lost her arm in a shark attack in 2003 describes how she has coped with this life-altering event, how her faith has inspired her to keep going, how her life has changed, and how her own dreams of surfing success have led her to return to the sport she loves.

Movies for Shark Week

Jaws

In the ultimate shark movie, the seaside community of Amity finds itself under attack by a dangerous great white shark, the town's chief of police, a young marine biologist, and a grizzled shark hunter embark on a desperate quest to destroy the beast before it strikes again.

Shallows

While surfing on a secluded beach, Nancy finds herself stranded only 200 yards from shore in the middle of a great white shark's feeding ground.

Sharknado

When a hurricane hits Los Angeles, tornadoes and flood waters carry sharks into the streets and a bar owner teams up with friends and family to fight the deadly creatures, in this made-for-TV modern day camp classic.

Open water

Based on a true story, two scuba divers are left stranded by their tour boat in shark-infested waters.

Inside nature's giants

Veterinary scientist Mark Evans and comparative anatomist Joy Reidenberg travel to South Africa's KwaZulu Natal Coast, where the body of a giant white shark weighing in at over 2,000 pounds and measuring almost 15 feet has been pulled up. It presents an international team of experts with a rare opportunity to explore this hunter's anatomy to find out how it has evolved into the ocean's most feared predator.