Snakes

by Harry W. Greene

Book Overview

This is a book about some of nature's most alluring and forbidding creatures, written by a man with an abiding passion for snakes, as well as for science, the fate of the planet, and the wonder of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520200144
• ISBN13: 9780520200142
• Release Date: June 1997
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 366 Pages
• Weight: 4.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 8.9" x 11.3"

Customer Reviews

A great book for both the advanced and beginner enthusiast

Harry Greene's book is widely considered to be a "classic" in the world of herpetological literature. He does a great job of presenting the information in sufficient detail, but not bogging it down in terminology or specifics that would lose the layman. The book covers all the major families of snakes, covering behavior, evolution, diet, reproduction, etc. The pictures, taken by husband and wife team Michael and Patricia Fogden, are gorgeous documentations of snakes in their natural habitats, and are a great addition to this book. I would venture to say that NO herp library is complete without a copy of this book, and that if one is just starting to compile a herpetological library, this book should easily be your first.

GREAT book!

Though it is an old book (1997) it is still a really really good book, which I think is a MUST for everyone keeping snakes. Some things like the taxonomy and "rearfanged-anatimy" is outdated, but still there is a LOT of really good basic info on snakes to get in this book. I have yet to find one book covering so many topics and give so much information in a easy-to-understand language. It is also quite easy to read, though english is not your native language. The book is made up of 3 parts, which again is divided in chapters. Part one is "Lifestyle" Some topics covered here is Classification, General biology, Feeding, Venomous snakes, Reproduction etc. Part 2 is Diversity. Here the different families like elapids, viperids, colubrids etc are covered. Part 3 is Synthesis. Here Greene write s about evolution and biogeography as well as a historic chaåter where he discuss snakes in the past, present and future. Furthermore there are 16 "special Topics" in the book. These are a few pages coverings topics like "Deadly colubrids and famous herpetologists "The coral snake mimicry problem" etc. I, for one, would love to see an updated version of this fantastic book, since much has happend since '97. This was my first "serious" snakebook and i have read it several times. Sometimes i still take it down from the shelf nd read my favorite chapters. I highly recommend this for people who wants to know a little more than cage temperatures and humidity ;)

Excellent Book About Snakes

Snakes: The Evolution Of Mystery In Nature, is one of the best books on snakes I have ever owned. It is a classic right up there with Ditmars, Klauffeld, and Conant. The illustrations are flawless, and include many rarely seen species. The text is extremely well edited, with virtually no typos or spell-check misuse of words. Factually, the book is spot on, with no misidentified species, no incorrect references, and no gaffes. All of the information presented is up to date, and based on state-of-the-art research. The author relates his personal experiences to introduce each chapter, evoking at-the-scene imagery, and lyrically conveying his point of view. The chapters are packed with information, conveying many new and fascinating tidbits of information about well know and lesser know serpents. Additionally, the chapters have special topics, which go into detail concerning specific aspects of snakes, such as the rattlesnake's rattle, mimicry of coral snakes by harmless species, and the ability of some snakes to swallow proportionately huge food items, and how these specializations may have evolved. Both the introductory essays and the special topics are illuminated by appropriate photos. If you like snakes, reptiles, are fascinated by nature, or simply interested in evolutionary theory, this is a book you must have.

Bushmasters, Eyelash Pitvipers, & Fire-bellied snakes

This book is not an encyclopediac treatment of snakes, but rather a natural history of some of the 2,700 species of snakes that are currently recognized. Eight chapters are devoted to general topics in snake biology, including anatomy, feeding, venoms (more snakes are venomous than we used to think), predation and defense, social behavior, reproduction, evolution, and conservation. The illustrations supplied by world-acclaimed nature photographers Michael and Patricia Fogden are absolutely gorgeous---snakes in every aspect of their dangerous, seductive charm, including my favorite of Peringuey's Adder in Namibia. This snake's tail protrudes above the sand as a lure, and if you look very closely at the picture, you might make out eyes and head scales that are almost completely invisible between the grains of sand. It is quite startling to be looking at a pile of sand and suddenly see the outline of an adder's head.The author, Harry W. Greene is Curator of Herpetology in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and Professor of Integrative Biology at the University of California, Berkeley. He opens each chapter in 'Snakes' with an essay that considers the subject from a more personal perspective: many of his fellow herpetologists have been bitten by venomous snakes, and some have died. The essays lead to Greene's epilogue and his answer to the question, "Why snakes?"This book is a fascinating read. I sat down to learn more about garter snakes when I came across several of these handsome reptiles that were just emerging from hibernation. I soon found myself rereading the whole book. There are fourteen references in the index to 'Thamnophis sirtalis' (the common garter snake) but they are scattered throughout the book in interesting chapters such as "Diet and Feeding." I didn't know garter snakes were semi-aquatic and dined mainly on other watery creatures such as frogs. They also form mating balls which may stay together for two or three days---one female and multiple males. They spend the winter together in hibernaculums--one hibernaculum in Ontario was found to have over 6,000 garter snakes!The author's favorite reptiles are the venomous snakes, their ability to cause damage measured in the number of mice that would die from the poison injected through a single bite. "Drop for toxic drop, the Inland Taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus) wins hands down: a bite from this Australian cobra relative contains enough venom to kill two hundred thousand mice..." In the introductory essay, the author and some of his friends go scrambling through a Costa Rican rain forest, looking for the deadly Bushmaster (Crotalus mutus). They weren't bitten by the Bushmasters they found, just by "huge black ants with the most intensely painful and long-lasting sting of any hymenopteran."If you'd like to explore the beauty and seductive grace of these ancient reptiles against a detailed backdrop of their biology and natural history, I highly recommend that you read

Detailed, brilliant, recommend to all interested in snakes

I came upon this book while searching for information on an unusual snake- the Asian Long-nosed Vine Snake. This book not only gave me information, but in it I found great detail on many snakes, and much information on adaptations that I had known nothing about. As a budding herpetologist, I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about snakes, their wiles, their guiles, and their wonder.