White Shark

by Peter Benchley

Book Overview

At a small marine institute off the coast of Connecticut, only marine biologist Simon Chase realizes that a sixteen-foot pregnant Great White is feeding in the area. But even Simon doesn't know that a far deadlier creature is about to come out of the deep and threaten everything he cares for. A creature whose malevolence is unthinkable. Whose need to feed is insatiable. And whose relentless hunt for prey is unstoppable. Twenty years after his huge...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679403566
• ISBN13: 9780679403562
• Release Date: May 1994
• Publisher: Random House
• Length: 324 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 1.3" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

White Shark doesn't just bark, it bites

At first glance, this book appears to be about a great white shark. This is not the case, however, as Benchley takes the reader back in time to when Germany's Third Reich is about to collapse at the end of WWII. A secret experiment German scientist's have been working on, which is nicknamed White Shark, is lost in the depths of the ocean as the U-Boat it is being transported on sinks. Then Benchley brings the reader back to the present day where Simon Chase runs a small marine institute on a small island he bought after he and his wife divorced. His son, Max, has come to visit him, which has been rare over the years since the divorce. Simon is studying sharks with his employee, an indian named Tall Man, and much to their delight a pregnant great white shark has been hanging around. Simon and Tall Man are able to tag it and study it. In the meantime, a whale and sea lion expert named Amanda arrives with her sea lions to study the passing Atlantic Humpback whales at Simon Chase's rather broke institute for a hefty 10,000 a month. Strange, horrific things begin to happen around the area. People mysteriously disappear, a bird sanctuary is ravaged, one of Amanda's sea lions disappears, and the great white shark is injured. The only evidence left at each of these terrible scenes are two stainless steel teeth that resemble those of a sharks, and five slashes on the great white shark that look like those of a human hand with claws. This book is suspenseful, engaging, and will keep you reading until the end. I liked it as much as I did Benchley's most famous book Jaws if not a little more. This is a good read for those who can suspend a little disbelief and especially good for those who like books that take place in or around a marine setting.

A Fast Paced Thriller

Peter Benchley is a truly amazing writer of the deep. But I must say after reading Jaws I was very mad because he discribed The Great White as a blood thirsty killing machine. In White Shark the creature from the deep is a expariment gone wrong not a Great White. There is a White in this story and Peter Benchley describes it as a butiful wonder of the deep, NOT a evil killing thing. The characters in this book are trully amazing and unforgetable. Benchley does a terrific job of making you feel for the characters. And of all the attack parts are really good if not a litte GROSS. This book trully bad Jaws look like a pet goldfish phisicly and in the way that this book kicks the book Jaws out of the water. Want a good book with thrills and chills... Read White Shark By Petetr Benchley!

This book grabbed my attention from the beginning!

This was even better than "Jaws"! Great suspense! Characters seem to come alive. Benchley certainly knows how to keep a reader hooked until the shocking ending! Great writing throughout this shocking book! I loved the ending!

Deserves every star it gets, and then some.

When I had first gotten this book, I'd put it off to the side for a while. But when I finally picked it up, I couldn't put it down. The reason I wanted the book in the first place was because I missed half the miniseries because of a storm. But the way the book read, there's no way the movie was better. The book was interesting in that it helped understand the ocean and the creatures that live there, plus and interesting plot, and characters that you feel like you've known them your whole life. If you want to read one book at the beach this summer, this is it, but don't plan on going into the water.

A good thriller. My thoughts...

This book begins during World War II. There is a doctor trying to escape from Germany. He gets on a submarine and brings a large coffin. On their way out of the country, they get attacked and sin k. In 1996, a photographer goes on a deep-sea dive to take pictures. Before the surface, they see the sunken U-boat. They go over and lift the coffin on to the boat. The man opens the coffin, which lets the creature escape. Simon Chase owns the Osprey Island Marine Institute. On the small island people start getting killed mysteriously. The people on the island realize the importance of killing this creature and intend to do it. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good sci-fi horror novel. It is somewhat gory and scary. It will keep you on your toes. If you liked Peter Benchley's "Jaws" then you will like this. It is a good, thrilling story that you wont want to put down.