Jaws was attacked by reviewers as a very clumsily written novel. These attacks were as much against the editorial staff at Doubleday as they were against Benchley. Together they constructed a book which was eagerly devoured by the public. Benchley combined two formulas commonly used in best sellers: He had chosen a subject about which most people knew something but were eager to learn more. He had suggested an external menace, a life-threatening force preying on a community. The great white shark answers the purposes of both formulas.

Ted Morgan, the journalist, pointed this out in an article written after Jaws became a big success. Benchley had instinctively found a surefire way to sell books. He would use variations of these formulas throughout his career.

All of Benchley's books provide a wealth of information on the sea, its creatures, ocean archaeology, and the histories of the settings of...