Bestselling author Michael Capuzzo, who wrote Close to Shore: The Terrifying Shark Attacks of 1916, is being featured in a lecture and reading on Thursday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. in Wheelwright Auditorium at Coastal Carolina University. The event is free and open to the public.

The nonfiction book, published in 2001, was Coastals big read for freshmen this semester, a shared intellectual experience for the incoming students. Following the lecture, Capuzzo will sign copies of his book, which will be available for sale.

Capuzzo's talk, "Being Swallowed Whole -- what sharks and college have in common," will deal with media crazes now and then, the first shark attacks in American history, abd what what we might learn from the Victorian and Edwardian periods.

Close to Shore is a nonfiction account of the first shark attacks on an American vacation resort. In the summer of 1916, four swimmers were killed by a rogue Great White shark in a series of attacks along the Jersey shore, prompting civic hysteria and a massive shark hunt.

Capuzzo is currently working on Arms of Angels, a nonfiction book on forensic scientists who work pro bono to solve cold case murders. And hes working on a narrative nonfiction book about Hurricane Camille. He was also honored with a first place award in excellence for most outstanding coverage of the black condition in 1993 in magazines over one million circulation by the National Association for Black Journalists (NABJ) for a Sports Illustrated profile of Hank Aaron.

Close to Shore, was suggested for Coastals summer reading program by English professor Nelljean Rice, who cited the books literary merit, its appeal to college age readers and its relevance in a summer beach resort setting.