Chasing Shadows: My Life Tracking the Great White Shark

Award-winning Maine author Ret Talbot will read from and discuss his book Chasing Shadows: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Great White Shark. Written with shark biologist Greg Skomal, the book chronicles the amazing conservation success story of restoring an apex predator to an ecosystem through the eyes of the shark biologist who, quite unexpectedly, found himself in the middle of it all. Of course, this conservation win comes with its own set of issues for public safety officials, seaside communities and politicians, who worry about both the proximity and density of a so-called "maneater" to popular beaches.

Talbot will take a deep dive into the origins of our relationship with this magnificent animal from mythical monster to the "Jaws effect," and he will explore what the future looks like with white sharks back along the beaches of New England. Scientific illustrator Karen Talbot, who created the illustrations and maps in the book, will also be at the event, and she will gladly add a hand-drawn illustration of a white shark to the title page of any book purchased. She'll also have her 4'x2' scientific illustration of the white shark featured in chapter one of the book on display.