Jaws
Book Description
When Peter Benchley first met with the editor of Doubleday, he was more interested in getting a book deal for some of his non-fictional pieces. However, the only thing the editor was interested in at that time was Benchley's idea for a novel about a man-eating shark. Benchley had been mulling over the idea for quite awhile. A few years later, the result of that meeting became the novel JAWS, a boo...
MoreWhen Peter Benchley first met with the editor of Doubleday, he was more interested in getting a book deal for some of his non-fictional pieces. However, the only thing the editor was interested in at that time was Benchley's idea for a novel about a man-eating shark. Benchley had been mulling over the idea for quite awhile. A few years later, the result of that meeting became the novel JAWS, a book that was so popular the rights to the film were sold even before the book was published. The book remained on best-seller lists for 44 weeks and the film-adaptation, directed by a young Steven Spielberg, became the first blockbuster movie, grossing over $100 million at the box office. Currently, the novel remains largely forgotten, overshadowed by the movie. In fact, most people have no idea that the movie is based upon a novel.
Like the film adaptation, JAWS largely revolves around police chief Martin Brody. Brody is a good cop, doing his best to keep law and order, while at the same time making his hometown look as best as possible for the summer people whose tourism keeps the small seaside resort city of Amity, New York alive the rest of the year. A few weeks before the summer season begins, a young woman's body is found half-eaten on a beach. It's no mistake that the girl was eaten by a shark and though the incident was probably a one-time occurrence, Brody wants to close the beaches for a few days as a safety precaution. The elected officials of the city are completely against the idea, especially mayor Larry Vaughan. Believing the attack to be a fluke, the editor of the local newspaper and good friend of Chief Brody, Harry Meadows keeps the story quiet.
A few days later a young boy and an older man are killed while swimming, proving that Brody's precaution should have been taken. After a local fisherman is killed while hunting for the shark,
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