3 stars
Nice progression for fans of the I Survived series to nonfiction encounters.
I initially grabbed this one because of the sharks attacks of 1916. It is the only true story featured in this collection that Tarshis has written a novel about. Others are tangentially related to books in the I Survived series (I Survived the Destruction of Pompeii, 79 A.D., I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871).
Some of the information provided is repeated from the historical fiction novel itself (I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916) but it does expand, telling the real story of Joseph Dunn who survived his encounter with the shark in Matawan Creek, what else was going on at the time (WWI), and what life was like in 1916. It also includes information regarding the debate of whether a great white shark or a bull shark was responsible for the attacks and discusses conversation efforts including some people often connected to scary stories about sharks (Bethany Hamilton, Peter Benchley) being vocal in saving sharks.
I was slightly annoyed by some of the inaccuracies (Very misleading that “Never had there been a proven case of a live person being bitten by a shark” (p. 18) prior to 1916. This statement should be modified with in “temperate waters”. Multiple confirmed shark attacks had occurred in Florida, Texas, the Carolinas, and numerous places globally by that time. But I digress.)
The book also details the Peshtigo Fire of 1871. I live in Wisconsin and was fascinated that I’d never heard of this fire that occurred the same night as the Great Chicago Fire. The eruption of Mount Tambora is another little-talked-about event that had a significant impact on global weather patterns.
I also found Rachael Shardlow’s encounter with the box jellyfish fascinating. Yay for one of the rare girl survivors highlighted in this series! (Also slightly annoyed John Hoisington’s sister’s (Sabrina) diary was used as reference material for the impact of the Mount Tambora eruption but John still got the spotlight in the story.)
Overall, a good nonfiction read about real survivors. I found the shark and jellyfish sections most interesting.