“I’ve been fascinated with sharks since I was eight or nine. Then again, what eight or nine year old isn’t fascinated with sharks.” The difference is that Gene Helfman acted on his fascination and actually studied sharks. And now he’s written a book about them.
Helfman, better known locally as the Lopez High School sports photographer and reporter, has just published his fourth fish book. The first two — a fish biology textbook and a reference book on fish conservation — were aimed at college level audiences. But upon retiring after 30 years at the University of Georgia as a researcher and teacher, Helfman decided to get the message out to a more general audience. “Textbook writing is rewarding, but you know you’re talking to a small and sometimes captive classroom audience. I wanted to reach more people and help them appreciate why fish in general and sharks in particular are so fascinating and worth saving.”
His shark book, z”Sharks: The Animal Answer Guide” (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014, 237 pages) is actually a lifelong dream realized. “If you go online and look for books about sharks, you’ll find a wealth of oversimplified books that insult the intelligence of the average middle-schooler, or technical tomes that are more sleep inducing than a double dose of Ambien. I always wanted to write something that was scientifically correct, up-to-date, and accessible to the public.” With co-author George Burgess, who runs the International Shark Attack Files at the University of Florida, Helfman took classic and current scientific literature and assembled the answers to what would be the more common (and less common) questions that people often ask about sharks: “How big are (and were) sharks. How fast do they swim? Do sharks sleep? How likely are attacks? Can sharks see color? Do sharks feel pain? What enemies (besides humans) do sharks have? Are any sharks endangered?” Sharks is a mix of current science, history, anthropology, intriguing facts, conservation, and stunning photographs, assembled in readable and sometimes humorous text.
“One of the true and ongoing pleasures of writing a popular, science-based book about sharks is it’s a great conversation starter,” said Helfman. “You continually meet people who say, “How cool! I love sharks”. And then you get to talk sharks. Dispel myths. Drop facts. Correct misconceptions and listen to stories. It crosses all ages and sexes. Grandparents brag about how much their grandkids know about sharks (but invariably ask questions of their own).”
“Sharks: The Animal Answer Guide” is available through Amazon.com, the Johns Hopkins University Press website, the Lopez Bookshop, or from the author at genehelfman@gmail.com. A companion website is at www.sharkanswers.com.
