Rattlesnakes: Their Habits, Life Histories, and Influence on Mankind, Second edition (2 volume set) [Hardcover]

Laurence M. Klauber (Author), Harry W. Greene (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0520210565 | ISBN-13: 978-0520210561 | Publication Date: July 31, 1997 | Edition: 2

This virtual encyclopedia of the rattlesnake became a natural history sensation when it was first published in 1956. The republication of the Second Edition, with a new foreword by Harry W. Greene, will give amateur and professional herpetologists alike reason to rejoice. Volume 1 covers taxonomy, physiology, and behavior; Volume 2 concentrates on the rattlesnake's interactions with other organisms, including humans. Klauber's detailed and thorough study is still one of the most complete rattlesnake references ever published.Greene's Foreword discusses the initial impact and continuing value of Klauber's work and recounts some of the advances in knowledge of rattlesnake biology during the past 25 years. Also included is an update of rattlesnake taxonomy.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Combines solid scientific reference material, which is not too technical for the layman to understand, with popular natural history, folklore about rattlesnakes and about their bites, and rattlesnake stories from credible and incredible sources. A wonderfully interesting book. -- Tucson Star --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Laurence M. Klauber was an electrical engineer who began seriously studying reptiles in his forties. He volunteered to become the San Diego Zoo's first Curator of Reptiles, and his fascination with snakes and lizards eventually brought him international scientific recognition. He died in 1968 at the age of eighty-four.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1580 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 2 edition (July 31, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520210565
• ISBN-13: 978-0520210561
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8 x 4.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #496,326 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #57 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Zoology > Reptiles

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly interesting book, July 11, 2002

By 

Richard L Gallager (Great Falls, MT United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rattlesnakes: Their Habits, Life Histories, and Influence on Mankind, Abridged edition (Paperback)

I read this book in the mid 90's just for the heck of it, and found it to be wonderful. The style is neither dryly academic nor breathlessly tabloid, but just right. The text answers almost all possible questions about rattlesnake life, legends, myths, and taxonomy that one could think of. It is one of the few books I have read that could be used as either a reference or vacation book.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars decades after it's publication, still the best!, July 21, 2004

By 

W. Paul W. "Paul White" (Amarillo, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rattlesnakes: Their Habits, Life Histories, and Influence on Mankind, Abridged edition (Paperback)

This book is still the best book on rattlesnakes, decades after it was published. That alone ought to stand as a testament to the value this book has. The author brought an incredibly analytical mind to this book, and it shows. Some of the medical information is out of date, as is some of the taxonomy, but much on the habitats, morphology, ecology, interaction with man, etc. still holds true.

His work on the rattlesnakes strike, on comparitive morphology of the two genera, etc. still stand. This book covers rattlesnakes in incredible depth, going over every detail of these serpents. It's a godsend for those of us interested in rattlers. This book leaves no stone unturned (herping joke, sorry). It covers it's subject matter completly and professionally, and is well worth having on the bookshelf as a reference. If you like rattlers, or for that matter find zoology interesting, this book is a worthwhile read. If only more herpetological text were near as thorough as this one...

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Klauber rules!, July 19, 2002

By 

Kay Fielding (Scottsdale, Arizona United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rattlesnakes: Their Habits, Life Histories, and Influence on Mankind, Abridged edition (Paperback)

Anything and everything you need to know about these great reptiles! Status, morphology, the rattle, bodily functions, behavior, population and ecology, food, reproduction, venom apparatus, envenomation and its effects, treatment and prevention of envenomation, control an utilization, enemies of rattlesnakes, Indians and rattlesnakes, post-Columbian knowledge of rattlesnakes, myths, folklore and tall stories.