In <em>Surviving the Shark</em>, Jonathan Kathrein describes his incredibleshark attack experience. The book covers all aspects of Kathrein'ssurvival, beginning with the eerie moments just before the attack,when something smashes into Kathrein's hand as he paddles onhis board, waiting for a wave off Stinson Beach in northern California.Realizing it is probably shark, and possibly a great white,Kathrein tries to paddle away, furiously trying to make it towardshore, where he sees some of his friends on the beach. But it is toolate, as the great white returns, slams into him, then grabs his legand pulls him underwater, thrashing him back and forth, trying torip his leg off. How Kathrein is able to escape and make his wayto shore, despite his horrific wounds, is nothing short of amazing.But that's just the beginning, as he now faces months of physicaland mental rehabilitation, all the while dealing with the constantmedia attention that the attack has generated. Gradually, with thehelp of his family and friends, Kathrein makes a recovery. Today,Kathrein gives lectures on shark conservation, as well as on suchtopics as avoiding shark attacks when you're in the water. In thisbook, he not only writes of his ordeal, but also delves into sharkbehavior, and explains his desire to spread shark awareness. Thereis also an underlying theme of tremendous familial love and Kathrein'sextreme fervor for life.