Emperors of the Deep

BY WILLIAM MCKEEVER, HARPERCOLLINS, £20 This is a wonderful new book covering the biology of sharks, their ecological importance, and the threats they face. Though it mainly focuses on the ‘big four’ (great whites, tigers, makos and hammerheads), McKeever does showcase several other species. The book gradually shifts from the misunderstood predators and drifts into the impact the fishing industry has (overfishing, shark finning, etc) before returning to the sharks themselves.

The book is not necessarily perfect from a scientific standpoint – the term apex predator is often misused, for example. Still, it puts forth an incredible amount of effort into educating a reader that has limited prior knowledge on the subject

– a fantastic beginner read.