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The Devil's Teeth: A True Story of Survival and Obsession Among America's Great White Sharks Audiobook
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(3.01) - 2,305 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Travel thirty miles north, south, or east of San Francisco city hall and you'll be engulfed in a landscape of thick traffic, fast enterprise, and six-dollar cappuccinos. Venture thirty miles due west, however, and you will find yourself on what is virtually another planet: a spooky cluster of rocky islands called the Farallones. Journalist Susan Casey was in her living room when she first glimpsed this strange place and its resident sharks, their dark fins swirling around a tiny boat in a documentary. These great whites were the alphas among alphas, the narrator said, some of them topping eighteen feet in length, and each fall they congregated here off the northern California coast. That so many of these magnificent and elusive animals lived in the 415 area code, crisscrossing each other under the surface like jets stacked in a holding pattern, seemed stunningly improbably–and irresistible. Within a matter of months she was in a seventeen-foot Boston Whaler, being hoisted up a cliff face onto the barren surface of Southeast Farallon Island–part of the group known to nineteenth-century sailors as the "Devil's Teeth." There she joined the two biologists who study the sharks, bunking down in the island's one habitable building, a haunted, 120-year-old house spackled with lichen and gull guano. Less than forty-eight hours later she had her first encounter with the famous, terrifying jaws and was instantly hooked. The Devil's Teeth offers a rare glimpse into the lives of nature's most mysterious predators, and of those who follow them. Here 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.
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"This is a wonderful story about Great White Sharks around the Farallon Islands off San Francisco. The author is funny and keeps the story going at good clip. I'm intrigued to learn more about the Farallones and will definitely be getting this to a certain sailor I know. fascinating stuff!"
— Carolyn (4 out of 5 stars)
Awards
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Selected for the Barnes & Noble Discover Award
The Devil's Teeth Listener Reviews
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" Like so many others, I'm torn over rating this book. I found it fascinating until the very end, when the author's cavalier attitude towards how it all ended shocked me. "
— Marina, 2/1/2014 -
" I thoroughly enjoy anything about great white sharks,and while this book has some really intersting encounters with them and somre really amazing information, it seems to be more abou the Farallone Isands then sharks. While the islands are facinating and portrayed well by Susan in this, she just doesn't have enough of a story to tell to keep the pages turning. If you are just getting this to read about shark encounters I might look for another book, however if the island history and convesrvation interest you, definetly pick it up. "
— Kyle, 1/9/2014 -
" I read this book and am so happy to be in my cosy house. I read this book and am in awe of marine life and the biologists who dedicate their lives to studying it. "
— M, 1/9/2014 -
" This was an interesting book that not only told fascinating stories about the animals of the Farralone Islands (only about 30 miles off San Francisco Bay), but of the Islands' often violent and strange human visitors and inhabitants. Lots of creepy but intriguing great white shark info., too! "
— Gretchen, 1/8/2014 -
" This one will keep you on the edge of your seat. Great story about sharks - yes, the ones that will eat you. "
— Cheryl, 1/1/2014 -
" fascinating book that taught me the magic of sharks. writer is a bit of a tool. if you can ignore her, the book is amazing. "
— Lara, 1/1/2014 -
" Really enjoyed this book about one of my favourite creatures. A gem!!! "
— Woolly, 12/28/2013 -
" If you aren't a lover of the ocean or sharks, you probably will not enjoy this book, or get very far into it. The book provides and look into a place that is off limits to everyone save for a few researchers, but is a spectacular place where nature rules. I was slightly dissapointed in the ending - it was abrupt and unsatisfying, but overall enjoyed leaning about the Islands and the amazing Great White. "
— Sarah, 12/19/2013 -
" Should have had many more sharks and a lot less Susan Casey. I read this after reading Casey's The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean, and I'm happy to say that her writing and her writing persona have greatly matured since THE DEVIL'S TEETH. "
— RD, 12/2/2013 -
" Very cool and interesting. Non-fiction but the world she describes seems like fiction "
— doug, 10/15/2013 -
" A nonfiction book that at times reads like fiction with the intensity and pacing. Fascinating look at what is still a mysterious creature in a lot of ways. "
— Nicole, 9/19/2013 -
" I was drawn to the story and would love to give this book 4 stars but her desire to go to the farralons cost other peole greatly and left me perturbed. "
— Marcia, 9/15/2013 -
" Reality reading at its best. Move over "Lost"! "
— Kate, 7/31/2013 -
" Excellent book if you're interested in either adventure in general or facts about great white sharks specifically. "
— Shamit, 5/15/2013 -
" I love sharks and Susan Casey is a great non-fiction writer. "
— Ashley, 5/6/2013 -
" its a tad out of my genre, but it's a good read. I love sharks, I think they are beautiful creatures. It starts slow, but makes for some good reading. "
— A.J.K., 4/1/2013 -
" I love Great White sharks! My imagination loves this one. Just think right off the coast of San Francisco lies a water teeming with grit! Feed your intellect.. "
— Suzanne, 11/14/2012 -
" looking down under my rented kayak whilst paddling in the monterey bay, i hoped that one of the great whites mentioned in this book would visit me and tell me how cool it was to swim around all day eating license plates. "
— Matt, 8/2/2012 -
" Really fascinating account of sharks and the people who study them, off the coast of San Francisco. Riveting. "
— Misssally, 3/2/2012 -
" Fascinating study of shark behavior off the coast of San Francisco. The author is annoyingly self absorbed and self righteous but it was hard to put the book down nonetheless. "
— Debbie, 3/2/2012 -
" Great book on the adventures of the treacherous Farralone Islands and great white sharks. "
— Shaun, 10/10/2011 -
" Interesting book about White sharks off the SanFranciso coast. "
— Scottp, 9/14/2011 -
" An AWESOME book. it talks about the white sharks conservation and studies off the coast of CA! "
— Stacy, 9/13/2011 -
" after reading this book, i am never, ever, ever getting into the water again. i mean, if there isn't ceramic at the bottom and a filter floating around it just aint going to happen. "
— Cristobal, 6/21/2011 -
" I picked this book up on a whim and was pleasantly surprised. Who knew that someone could describe waves in so many different and descriptive terms? a 8 out of 10. "
— Avi, 5/22/2011 -
" This was an extremely facinating book. Its amazing how these guys surf waves that have distroyed towns and communities, and even lives. "
— Natasha, 5/18/2011 -
" The author goes between surfing the biggest wave to the science behind rogue waves and all the people involved in between. Let's just say, I will think twice about taking another cruise. :) "
— Lisa, 5/16/2011 -
" Just loved it ! It's more about surf, than about science, but it's ok, because the surf is great! <br/>Maybe the author has a crush on Hamilton, but I don't care, because the book made me feel this way to... A great book, quick and amusing reading. "
— Ana, 5/12/2011 -
" Given to me by my friend Nicole. A great read, interesting and informative, and not just for the amazing stories from the surfers we used to oogle over. "
— Connie, 5/10/2011 -
" While reading this book i was conflicted with a desire to learn how to tow surf and a similarly strong desire to never go near the ocean again. Do ypu know that on average two large ships are lost at sea each week? Neither did i. Fascinating read. "
— Tiffani, 5/6/2011 -
" Could not put this down! It also inspired me to get back into my mile swim routine because I miss being in the water. "
— Sarah, 5/4/2011 -
" I was interested in the subject and science behind it, but most of the book focused on glowing portraits of surfers. The writing was cloying, so much so that I could barely get through it. "
— Christina, 4/30/2011 -
" wow, amazing stories of the power of the ocean & man's urge to understand, conquer or live with it "
— Sarah, 4/24/2011 -
" I'm listening to this on CD. "
— Meta, 4/23/2011
About Susan Casey
Susan Casey is author of several nonfiction books, including New York Times bestsellers. She is the former editor in chief of O, The Oprah Magazine. She is a National Magazine Award-winning journalist whose work has been featured in the Best American Science and Nature Writing, Best American Sports Writing, and Best American Magazine Writing anthologies. Her writing has also appeared in Esquire, Sports Illustrated, Fortune, and Outside.
About Kimberly Farr
Kimberly Farr is an actress and winner of numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards for narration. She has appeared on Broadway and at the New York Shakespeare Festival, the Roundabout Theatre, Playwright’s Horizons, and the American Place. She created the role of “Eve” in Arthur Miller’s first and only musical, Up from Paradise, which was directed by the author. She appeared with Vanessa Redgrave in the Broadway production of The Lady from the Sea and has acted in regional theaters across the country, including a performance in the original production of The 1940’s Radio Hour at Washington, DC’s Arena Stage.