by experts, targeted at a college or professional audience, providing great
detail or the latest research findings for persons who already possess an
extensive biological education. Comparatively few are written “for people
with little prior knowledge of sharks, but with a curiosity and interest in
finding out more about them” (Springer and Gold 1989, p. 10). Our in-
tended readers are the same for which Springer and Gold wrote Sharks in
Question, namely, intelligent people who want more than the basics without
the hype and aren’t afraid of the technical detail necessary to fully appreci-
ate why sharks are worthy of study. Springer and Gold accomplished this
superbly, and we hope to reach the same audience and level of detail, up-
dating the material in that now out-of-print volume.
Springer and Gold concluded their influential 1989 volume by observ-
ing, “You can be certain that many more books about sharks will be writ-
ten as new information increases our understanding; quite possibly, the fu-
ture authors are among our readers” (p. 145). They were correct on both
counts. We are grateful for their inspiration and hope that we too will stim-
ulate future efforts at understanding, explaining, and promoting the natu-
ral history, biology, behavior, and conservation of these fascinating animals.
xii Acknowledgments
http://www.ebook3000.com