Benchley was inspired by several real-life incidents, such as the Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916 that resulted in four deaths over 12 days and the exploits of shark fisherman Frank Mundus. Doubleday commissioned him to write the novel. Film producers Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown read the novel before its publication and bought the film rights. They helped raise the novel's profile and when it was published in February 1974 it became a great success, staying on the bestseller list for some 44 weeks.

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