The Secret History of Sharks

'Will keep you on the edge of your seat from its first page to its last page' - Jared Diamond, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Guns, Germs, and Steel

From ancient megalodons to fearsome Great Whites, this book tells the complete, untold story of how sharks emerged as Earth's ultimate survivors, by world-leading palaeontologist John Long.

Sharks have been fighting for their lives for 500 million years and today are under dire threat. They are the longest-surviving vertebrate on Earth, outlasting multiple mass extinction events that decimated life on the planet. But how did they thrive for so long? By developing superpower-like abilities that allowed them to ascend to the top of the oceanic food chain.

John Long, who for decades has been on the cutting edge of shark research, weaves a thrilling story of sharks' unparalleled reign. The Secret History of Sharks showcases the global search to discover sharks' largely unknown evolution, led by Long and dozens of other extraordinary scientists.

As the tale unfolds, Long introduces an enormous range of astonishing organisms: a thirty-foot-long shark with a deadly saw blade of jagged teeth protruding from its lower jaws and bizarre sharks fossilised while in their mating ritual. With insights into the threats to sharks today, how they contribute to medical advances, and the lessons they can teach us about our own survival, The Secret History of Sharks is a riveting look at scientific discovery with ramifications far beyond the ocean.

'This book is the work of a master scientist and storyteller. It will make you see sharks in a new way: not as blood-thirsty monsters that we should fear, but as nature's ultimate survivors' - Steve Brusatte, New York Times bestselling author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs

'Readers will want to sink their teeth into this' - Publishers Weekly

'Thoroughly researched and wonderfully narrated, The Secret History of Sharks makes a convincing case that the story of sharks is nothing less than the story of life on Earth. Highly recommended!' - Nate Blakeslee, New York Times bestselling author of American Wolf