Author Peter Benchley, best known for the novel JAWS, died today of pulmonary fibrosis, at the age of 65.

Released in 1974, JAWS was a bestseller, but experienced even greater success after Steven Spielberg turned it into the wildly successful, Academy Award-winning movie – for which Benchley co-wrote the Golden Globe-nominated screenplay – that spawned three sequels and a host of imitations that continues to this day. Benchley spent his career returning to the water, issuing one novel after another dealing with oceanic terrors, including THE DEEP, THE ISLAND, BEAST and WHITE SHARK.

Partly responsible for creating a fear of sharks in millions of people, Benchley sought to set the record straight in 2002, with the non-fiction work SHARK TROUBLE, which reassured the public that shark bites actually are very rare. However, it’s more fun to believe the opposite, because JAWS is a cultural milestone, and was released in a 30th anniversary hardcover last summer.

I read JAWS in a used paperback I picked up at a huge book sale when I was in junior high, following many, many viewings of the movie. It still scared me. I must admit that to date, it’s the only Benchley I’ve read, but growing up I recall visiting my grandparents’ house and being freaked out by the scary covers to THE ISLAND and THE DEEP, which you can see after the jump.