Around the world, sharks — and shark books — command a strange sort of fascination in humans—an urge to see, learn, encounter, but also to get a vicarious chill by reading about sharks' savagery. In the water, human intelligence is no match or a shark’s brutal, destructive instincts. Sharks are born to kill and eat: They detect distress, smell blood—and attack. Marine disasters such as those in UNSPEAKABLE HORROR make prey of the survivors.

World War II, with a plethora of air and sea disasters never before encountered during previous confrontations or in peacetime, regrettably spawned large numbers of shark attacks. A general worldwide trend towards more intense utilization of marine waters for recreational activities during this time increased the chances of shark-human interactions with a resulting increase in the number of attacks. Factor in fictionalized shark accounts in the popular press and movies ("Jaws")and it's easy to see why sharks a hot topic — and why shark books are perennial favorites. Shark attack is probably the most feared natural danger to man, surpassing even hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes — surely in the minds of beachgoers and all sailors. Among the earth's large animals implicated in the attack and consumption of humans, only sharks have not been "controlled" by man.

The story of the USS Indianapolis is well-known. After delivering crucial components of the atomic bomb that would level Hiroshima in 1945, the Indianapolis was sunk by a Japanese submarine in the South China Sea. Of the nearly 1,200 men aboard, 900 survived the torpedoing, spilling into the sea. White tip sharks began attacking the next morning and after four days only 300 sailors were alive to rescue. Less famous are the many stories of ships all around the world sinking in shark-infested waters with gruesome results. Such as the Cape San Juan, a US troop transport ship that was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in the Pacific Ocean near the Fiji Islands; nearly 700 of the survivors were killed by sharks. Or the HMS Birkenhead, which sunk off Danger Point, South Africa, in 1852, resulting in 440 shark-related fatalities. In 1927, the luxury Italian cruise liner Principessa Maldafa sank ninety miles off the coast of Albrohos Island while heading to Porto Seguro, Brazil. Nearly 300 who survived the wreck were killed by sharks. In 1909, the French steamer Seyne collided with British India Steamship Co. liner Onda near Singapore, twenty-six miles from land. One hundred and one people were eventually killed by sharks.

In the water, human intelligence is no match for a shark’s brutal, destructive instincts. Sharks are born to kill and eat: They detect distress, smell blood—and attack. Marine disasters such as those above make prey of the survivors.

Joseph B. Healy has spent more than two decades in publishing, editing outdoors magazines for much of that time. His editorial career began at Outdoor Life and continued in fly-fishing and lifestyle publishing. He currently is editor of Covey Rise, a magazine covering the lifestyle of international wing shooting. He is the author of, most recently, When Bears Attack: Close Encounters of the Terrifying Kind (Skyhorse, 2016).