In the Name of Sharks - by François Sarano (Paperback)

About the Book

"Twenty metres below water, the oceanographer François Sarano came face to face with a five-and-a-half metre great white shark. Seduced by the gentle elegance of this majestic creature, Sarano experienced a profound sense of affinity with her as they swam side by side, shoulder to shoulder, eye to eye, cutting a single figure through the ocean depths. It was an experience which made him realize the depth of our ignorance of the lives of sharks, leading him to become a passionate advocate for their protection. Drawing on the latest scientific research on the biology and ethology of sharks and their exceptional characteristics, this book aims to break through the barrier of prejudice and to pay homage to their true nature. Representing a last vestige of wildness, their populations are nevertheless under threat - like so many species, they have been hunted and exploited by humans. Sarano argues for a change of mindset in which we lose ourselves in the world of the other, so that each living entity, human and non-human, can take their rightful place in the broader global ecosystem."--

Book Synopsis

Twenty metres below water, the oceanographer François Sarano came face to face with a five-and-a-half metre great white shark. Seduced by the gentle elegance of this majestic creature, Sarano experienced a profound sense of affinity with her as they swam side by side, shoulder to shoulder, eye to eye, cutting a single figure through the ocean depths. It was an experience which made him realize the depth of our ignorance of the lives of sharks, leading him to become a passionate advocate for their protection.

Drawing on the latest scientific research on the biology and ethology of sharks and their exceptional characteristics, this book aims to break through the barrier of prejudice and to pay homage to their true nature. Representing a last vestige of wildness, their populations are nevertheless under threat - like so many species, they have been hunted and exploited by humans. Sarano argues for a change of mindset in which we lose ourselves in the world of the other, so that each living entity, human and non-human, can take their rightful place in the broader global ecosystem.

Also available as an audiobook.

Review Quotes

"In a prior incarnation, François Sarano lived as a shark. Here he shares the experiences of swimming, sensing, feeding and thinking as a shark. The book is a brilliant and beautiful advance towards interspecies communication."
Jesse Ausubel, The Rockefeller University, New York City

"When it comes to our relations with sharks, there's a lot that needs fixing. Sarano's passionate, eye-opening book sets the record straight about one of the most misunderstood and unfairly demonized groups of animals on Earth."
Jonathan Balcombe, author of What a Fish Knows and A Boy and a Fish

"stimulating... Sarano's deep reverence for his subject undergirds his passionate account of how harvesting millions of sharks each year for their fins and liver oil (which is used in beauty creams) has put more than a third of all shark and ray (their close cousins) species at risk of extinction. Wide-ranging and accessible, this is worth diving into."
Publishers Weekly

About the Author

François Sarano is an oceanographer, professional diver and former expedition leader of the Calypso, the research ship of Jacques Cousteau. He is research director of the Deep Ocean Odyssey program and co-founder of the Longitude 181 association, which is dedicated to understanding and protecting the oceans. He has written and served as a consultant for numerous films and documentaries including Oceans.