SNAKES PB (Smithsonian's Natural World Series) [Paperback]

Stafford P (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 17, 2000 | Series: Smithsonian's Natural World Series

Whether loathed, feared, admired, or worshipped, snakes evoke stronger human reactions than almost any other animal. This survey by Peter Stafford, illustrated with more than 130 color photographs, charts the biology and natural history of snakes, highlighting the variety and complexity of a group that includes almost three thousand living species.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Smithsonian (September 17, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560989971
• ISBN-13: 978-1560989974
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 8.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,439,398 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful photography; Well constructed basic overview., March 17, 2001

By 

adamgator "adamgator" (Gainesville, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: SNAKES PB (Smithsonian's Natural World Series) (Paperback)

Contains information on lifestyle, structure, anatomy, senses, and snake locomotion. Most of the book provides a basic overview of several groups of snake (e.g. elapidae, boas, sunbeam snakes, vipers, etc.). Brief descriptions of each family are provided along with some specific details on a few individual species. The wonderful photos are included throughout the book. The "did you know" type boxes, found in each section, were of particular interest. This book neither intended as a species guide for snake identification nor for regional identification. However, it is well worth the price. Overall, well written & full of interesting facts + excellent photos.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Overall Great Book, May 4, 2006

By 

R. Maynard (Earth) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: SNAKES PB (Smithsonian's Natural World Series) (Paperback)

As far as information on snakes of all types and covering fascinating species worldwide, this book is not one that should be missed. It is definetely good for the money. The photography in the book compliments the information quite well. What I found most interesting were the random pages throughout the book that discussed certain issues such as "A plundering vagrant- the brown cat snake on Guam," "A reproductive success story- the short-tailed coral snake," and "Which snake is the most dangerous." These are only a few of the interesting topics discussed. There were only a few small errors I picked up on. . . I believe there are 16 species in the genus Bitis, and and from my understanding, the golden lancehead on the island of Queimada Grande does have an extremely toxic venom (he claims it is not as toxic as it is thought to be). Other sources, including Bill Lamar, explain that it is very toxic and from the small number of people that have been envenomated, the mortality rate is higher than 50%. Anyhow, enough complaints b/c the book is really good.