The Snake Book [Hardcover]

DK Publishing (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 18, 1997

Introduces the habitats, physical characteristics, and behavior of different kinds of snakes throughout the world.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Slither into DK's Snake and you'll find yourself tantalized. Or is that terrorized? Either way, snake aficionados, and those looking to increase their appreciation of snakes, should not miss this gorgeous, full-color guide to the legless reptiles. Chris Mattison, a herpetologist and wildlife photographer, has gathered a concise compendium of facts, myths, and unbelievable images, with familiar as well as little-known species highlighted. While not zoologically comprehensive, Snake does provide a good sense of the diversity of these lovely and misunderstood animals. From the intricate patterns of the harmless checkered garter snake to the sheer magnificence of the deadly, 11.5-foot-long black mamba, each snake is presented with its best scale forward. Snake is full of great herpetological trivia, and the photos are sharply detailed close-ups. --Therese Littleton --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3. A brief introduction to 12 different snakes ranging from the boa constrictor to the everglades rat snake. Close-up, full-color photographs set against stark white backgrounds allow readers to see the details of each reptile's body. A dramatic four-page foldout reveals a reticulated python. The text is sparse and the pictures are not labeled, making this title useless for school reports. However, for snake enthusiasts, it's an enjoyable book for browsing. Patricia Lauber's Snakes Are Hunters (HarperCollins, 1988) is a much better choice for general information. For more in-depth details on specific snakes, the "Snake Discovery Library" (Rourke) and the "Fangs! An Imagination Library" series (Gareth Stevens) are both superior choices.?Katherine Borchert, Arlington Central Library, VA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: DK CHILDREN (March 18, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789415267
• ISBN-13: 978-0789415264
• Product Dimensions: 12.4 x 10.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,536,724 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for everyone, January 23, 2000

By 

Tom Wage (Raliegh, North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Snake: The Essential Visual Guide to the World of Snakes (Hardcover)

This book starts out by giving a very comprehensive section about the anatomy, hunting, evolution, habitats,and senses of the snake. Each of these topics were given two pages, of which were filled with interesting information. I keep snakes, but I still found myself learning things. After this, the book goes into a section that tells about many interesting species of snakes in a great format including color pictures. While the book doesn't feature as many species as I would have liked to have seen, the ones it does show are well chosen(for the most part). After this section, the book goes into a huge directory of genuses and species of almost all the snakes in the world(including some rare subspecies). This section of the book is invaluable for a herpitoligest or just someone looking up the latin name of a snake. Overall the book is great for average person and person who knows alot about snakes alike. I think the book could have been better if he had featured more species of snakes, but the book is fine as it is.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Snake Book !!, June 19, 2002

By 

Sofian Sumada (SURABAYA, Jawa Timur, Indonesia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Snake: The Essential Visual Guide to the World of Snakes (Hardcover)

This book probably the BEST snake book I owned. Large of photo (I mean: really BIG photo!!, double pages). This book give you a very comprehensive section about the anatomy, how they hunt, habitats,and senses ...
It written in a very short informative way ....
I really love this book !! This book is "A MUST" for all snake lovers ...

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book, visually spectacular, needs more species, December 10, 1999

By 

Shane M Partin (West Lafayette, IN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Snake: The Essential Visual Guide to the World of Snakes (Hardcover)

My only problem with this book is its relatively few number of species shown. I would have liked the book to contain more species and perhaps a bit more information. But other than that the book is really great. The photos are all amazing and the snakes chosen to be included are good ones.