The Secret History of Sharks: The Rise of the Ocean's Most Fearsome Predators

by John Long Narrated by John Long

Overview

From ancient megalodons to fearsome Great Whites, this book tells the complete, untold story of how sharks emerged as Earth's ultimate survivors, by world-leading paleontologist John Long.

“Will keep you on the edge of your seat from its first page to its last page.”-Jared Diamond, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Guns, Germs, and Steel

Sharks have been fighting for their lives for 500 million years and today are under dire threat.*They are the longest-surviving vertebrate on Earth, outlasting multiple mass extinction events that decimated life on the planet. But how did they thrive for so long? By developing superpower-like abilities that allowed them to ascend to the top of the oceanic food chain.

John Long, who for decades has been on the cutting edge of shark research, weaves a thrilling story of sharks' unparalleled reign. The Secret History of Sharks showcases the global search to discover sharks' largely unknown evolution, led by Long and dozens of other extraordinary scientists. They embark on digs to all seven continents, investigating layers of rock and using cutting-edge technology to reveal never-before-found fossils and the clues to sharks' singular story.*

As the tale unfolds,*Long introduces an enormous range of astonishing organisms: a thirty-foot-long shark with a deadly saw blade of jagged teeth protruding from its lower jaws, a monster giant clams crusher, and bizarre sharks fossilized while in their mating ritual. The book also includes startling new facts about the mighty megalodon, with its sixty-six-foot-long body, massive jaws, and six-inch serrated teeth.

With insights into the threats to sharks today, how they contribute to medical advances, and the lessons they can teach us about our own survival, The Secret History of Sharks is a riveting look at scientific discovery with ramifications far beyond the ocean.


* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF*that contains*a list of scientific names, a glossary of terms and*selected photos, maps and other visual representations of subjects explored in the book.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

05/06/2024

In this stimulating study, Long (Prehistoric Australasia), a paleontology professor at Flinders University in Australia, explores “how over the course of 465 million years were shaped and honed by a constantly changing world.” Emphasizing the predators’ resilience, Long explains that sharks survived the “Great Dying,” an era of “prolonged volcanic eruptions” 252 million years ago that wiped out around 87% of all marine species, by moving into deeper parts of the ocean that were less affected by the dramatic rise in water temperatures. Sharks have also shown a great capacity for adaptation, Long writes, suggesting their “superpower” is “the ability to craft and shape new tooth types with new tissues” (some species “developed flat crushing or grinding tooth plates” for cracking clams while other grew cladodont teeth, each of which has “three or more prominent pointed cusps”). The comprehensive overview of sharks’ evolutionary history highlights some of the stranger specimens to have prowled the oceans (one ancient species had “large wing-like pectoral fins emerging from near its neck like dystopian underwater butterflies”). Long also sheds light on how paleontologists draw conclusions from a limited fossil record, describing how “analyzing the isotopes of certain elements like nitrogen, carbon, and oxygen” in shark teeth reveals what kinds of prey the carnivores ate. Readers will want to sink their teeth into this. Photos. Agent: Jane von Mehren, Aevitas Creative Management. (July)

From the Publisher

Sharks scare and fascinate us. How did they evolve? How did they beat out the ocean’s other giant predators of the past, like carnivorous marine reptiles? Is it ever safe to swim with Great White Sharks? What else do sharks do to make a living, besides eating us and other big prey? This book, by shark expert and great writer John Long, will keep you on the edge of your seat from its first page to its last page.”—Jared Diamond, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Guns, Germs, and Steel

“In this magnificent book, the eminent paleontologist John Long tells the true story of sharks and their evolutionary legacy spanning hundreds of millions of years. Rich with scientific detail and enlivened with stories from Long’s decades of fossil discoveries and cutting-edge research, this book is the work of a master scientist and storyteller. It will make you see sharks in a new way: not as blood-thirsty monsters that we should fear, but as nature’s ultimate survivors that can teach us about evolution and environmental change.”—Steve Brusatte, professor and paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh and New York Times bestselling author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs
 
“Dive in to this effervescent, engaging biography of the world’s most misunderstood creatures. Evolving in obscurity almost half a billion years ago, sharks have endured the worst that the earth could throw at them. They were here long before the dinosaurs. When dinosaurs died out, sharks were still here. But will they be able to survive the Earth’s current threat: us?”—Henry Gee, PhD, senior editor of Nature and author of the award-winning A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth

“Every week is Shark Week for John Long, who has spent his life scouring the planet for clues to the mystery of shark evolution. Thoroughly researched and wonderfully narrated, The Secret History of Sharks makes a convincing case that the story of sharks is nothing less than the story of life on Earth. Highly recommended!”—Nate Blakeslee, New York Times bestselling author of American Wolf

“Readers will want to sink their teeth into this.”—Publishers Weekly

“Long writes lively, lucid prose, and while this is not a textbook, he delivers an extremely detailed education in the history, anatomy, behavior, and ecology of the extensive shark family. . . . An expert natural history with few stones left unturned. If you enjoy searching for shark teeth, read this book.”—Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

BN ID:	2940160189796
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	07/02/2024
Edition description:	Unabridged