Emperors of the Deep takes the reader on a pulse-pounding tour around the world and deep under the
water’s surface—from the frigid waters of the Arctic Circle to the coral reefs of the tropical Central Pacific, to
look at sharks in new ways. McKeever interviews world-renowned shark scientists who have uncovered
exciting new scientific discoveries that upends our views on sharks. The book examines the Big Four —Mako,
Tiger, Hammerhead, and Great White, and reveals exciting new revelations about them and other sharks. For
example, did you know that Thresher sharks hunt with their tail, the only fish in the ocean that does this, which
they fling at prey at 80 miles an hour?
Moreover, the reader meets an extraordinary group of characters during this incredible two-year journey into
the shark’s world, including one of the first female captains of Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior, the South
African trackers of great whites, and the self-professed “last great shark hunter.”
McKeever dispels the old narrative on sharks from Jaws to “Shark Week,” which claims sharks are terrifying
cold-blooded, underwater predators. In the book, McKeever makes a case that sharks are unequivocally
essential to maintaining a balanced ecosystem. When apex predators like sharks are removed from the ocean,
the effect on reefs and seagrasses is catastrophic. Through the content provided in the book, and supporting
b-roll footage from the author’s upcoming full-length documentary, McKeever literally takes a deep-dive into the
misunderstood world of sharks; and is on a mission for everyone to put their spears down and understand this
“urgent call to protect them.”
Author William McKeever is the founder of Safeguard the Seas, an NGO dedicated to ocean conservation,
and is the producer and director of the forthcoming feature-length documentary Man Bites Shark. He lives in
New York City.