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The Devil's Teeth: A True Story of Obsession and Survival Among America's Great White Sharks
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Product Description
Susan Casey was in her living room when she first saw the great white sharks of the Farallon Islands, their dark fins swirling around a small motorboat in a documentary. These sharks were the alphas among alphas, some longer than twenty feet, and there were too many to count; even more incredible, this congregation was taking place just twenty-seven miles off the coast of San Francisco.
In a matter of months, Casey was being hoisted out of the early-winter swells on a crane, up a cliff face to the barren surface of Southeast Farallon Island-dubbed by sailors in the 1850s the "devil's teeth." There she joined Scot Anderson and Peter Pyle, the two biologists who bunk down during shark season each fall in the island's one habitable building, a haunted, 135-year-old house spackled with lichen and gull guano. Two days later, she got her first glimpse of the famous, terrifying jaws up close and she was instantly hooked; her fascination soon yielded to obsession-and an invitation to return for a full season. But as Casey readied herself for the eight-week stint, she had no way of preparing for what she would find among the dangerous, forgotten islands that have banished every campaign for civilization in the past two hundred years.
The Devil's Teeth is a vivid dispatch from an otherworldly outpost, a story of crossing the boundary between society and an untamed place where humans are neither wanted nor needed.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #45264 in Books
- Published on: 2006-05-30
- Released on: 2006-05-30
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Paperback
- 304 pages
Customer Reviews
Book starts off about Magnificant Creatures ends up about author
I have to say, being an environmentalist, and being obsessed with sharks, drew me to this book. Let me keep it simple for you. The book starts off about the Scientists, the individual Great White Sharks, and the Island, and ends about all about the author, who quite frankly I had no interest in. It should be called "I tried to write about the sharks, I really tried, but in the end it is about me".
:(
Ambivalent
While I thought the history of the Farrallones was fascinating, the fawning hero worship of Casey over Peter Pyle particularly was annoying. Like other disappointed reviewers I found the actual shark information lacking, although I did enjoy reading about all of the other wildlife on the islands.
I really couldn't believe, however, that at the end Casey takes such flaccid "responsibility" for the demise of the shark project and the ruination of Pyle's career. I suppose her self-absorption and determination to put her own wants first are what permitted her to have such unprecedented access to a place few are allowed to visit in the first place, so it should be unsurprising that she will accept the accolades and gloss over the damage done by her "work" there. I was appalled, and saddened by the obvious and truly devastating impact that her little "obsession" had on the project.
"They're not too bad... unless you're a seal." -Peter Pyle
THE DEVILS TEETH is an exceptionally well-written account of the Farallon Islands and, in particular, the white shark research project that has been based there over the past several decades. Susan Carey profiles Peter Pyle and Scot Anderson, two biologists who have been leading shark research at the islands which are located just 27 miles due west of San Francisco. She also documents her own (ultimately disastrous) experiences gaining access to the islands which are largely prohibited to the public. The stars of the story are the sharks themselves, who turn out to be far more individualistic and personable than you would probably ever imagine.
The white sharks of the Farallon Islands are perhaps the best studied in the world in their natural state. The circus atmosphere which surrounds white shark research in places like Australia and South Africa have largely compromised the sharks natural habitat making it difficult to observe sharks behaving naturally. The Farallon Islands, known to 19th-century mariners as "The Devil's Teeth," are a dangerous and foreboding locale, but one that lends itself well to scientific investigations. Carey takes us through the history of exploitation, inhabitation, and research that has taken place on the islands over the past 150 years, and she includes a healthy amount of information about the other wildlife in evidence on and around the islands. But she clearly (and admittedly) developed an obsession with the sharks, and the narrative of the book is continually steered back toward them.
The thing that struck me the most in THE DEVIL'S TEETH was the description of the individual white sharks' strong personalities. I would never have thought that a white shark could be described in terms of being "gentle and maternal" (Whiteslash) or "happy-go-lucky and somewhat goofy" (Half Fin). Other individual sharks, of course, had more sinister reputations. Still, one can come away from reading this book with the impression that the great white shark is truly a likeable animal, if not exactly huggable. Another revelation (to me, at least) was the evidence that at least some white sharks, like whales, apparently have fixed migratory routes that can take them thousands of miles through the course of a year. Some (the females) appear to have two-year migrations since they only show up every other year in the Farallones.
Susan Carey takes us into an exclusive place, to be sure: a world where cage divers and eco-tourists are looked down upon with disdain. In a way, it hardly seems fair that the experience of witnessing the thrill of a white shark kill should be so restricted. As Peter Pyle himself said, "I feel sorry for anyone who hasn't seen one." Of course, it is understandable. As in nearly other place in the world where white sharks congregate, the delicate ecosystem of the Farallon Islands would suffer tragically and research effort would be compromised from increased human intrusion. THE DEVIL'S TEETH is a glimpse into the world of two committed biologists and the truly majestic animals they study.
Jeremy W. Forstadt
