The Encyclopedia of Snakes

That was the word used when I asked my son-in-law how he liked his birthday present. He generally is not a reader but is very interested in snakes. He read the entire book and enjoyed it very much. He said he gained a lot of useful information.

This is a great book. Instaed of the usual individual synopsis of each species, it has a more general approach. The sections on taxonomy and classification were especially useful to me.

I loved this book. It provided some natural history, but the meat of the book was the snakes' habits and lifestyles which is what most people starting in herpetology want. All in all it is a great book.

This comprehensive, highly illustrated book covers the most popular aspects of snake biology and is intended to be the most informative and comprehensive title on the subject yet published. Throughout, colour photographs show the fascinating variety of snake coloration as well as being used to illustrate and clarify points of interest. Each chapter consists of a main theme containing text, photographs and diagrams. There is a detailed coverage of snake classification, evolution, natural diversity, size, shape and coloration, physiology, ecology, feeding, defensive behaviour, breeding, mythology, superstition and modern human attitudes to snakes. In addition, there are 'fact boxes'within each chapter, which comprise items of special importance and interest, such as scale-type, population in the wild, egg incubation, etc. Above all, this will be a major international title for all involved and interested in snakes, their zoology and care in captivity. Chris Mattison is a professional berpetologist, based in Sheffield in the UK, with an international reputation as a writer on the topic. He is a long- established Cassell/Blandford author, having written Snakes of the World, Keeping and Breeding Snakes and half-a-dozen other related titles. A member of both the British and International Herpetological Societies, he travels widely photographing reptiles in the wild and is in demand as a lecturer on the subject in Europe and North America.