Customer Reviews

The Snake Charmer: A Life and Death in Pursuit of Knowledge

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Most biographies are about people you've probably heard of already. However, Jamie James' biography of Joe Slowinski, an energetic herpetologist, is more interesting than the lives of most of our presidents and celebrities. James depicts Slowinski as a man full of energy, and his biography is also full of energy. It tracks Slowinski from his childhood finding fossils right up until his death in northern Burma. In between, James recounts raucous tales of a young scientist catching venomous snakes barehanded and traveling the world.

One of James' best tricks is to interweave short biographies of the snakes along with the biography of Slowinski. Since Slowinski's life was so intertwined these beautiful reptiles, they reveal much about the man himself. I ended up learning as much about snakes as I did about the life of a herpetologist.

I especially liked this book because I've visited some of the places Slowinski did and met some of the same Burmese scientists. I spent a week in Alaungdaw Kathapa National Park, where Slowinski conducted some of his earlier research, and can attest to Jamie Jame's depiction of northern Burma as remote and wonderful. It was a pleasure to see some of my old friends and locations mentioned in the book. This book will also appeal to readers with a general interest in Burma.

The final chapter recounting Slowinski's death is especially poignant. Slowinski was fatally bit by a Multi-Banded Krait, the very snake he was studying. James brings the doomed rescue attempt to life and highlights the bravery of Slowinski's colleagues in the field. When reading it, I recalled Steve Irwin's similarly tragic death several years ago. Slowinski's death was tragic, but reading the biography one gets the sense that he packed more into his brief life than most of us do in twice his lifespan. It made me believe, more than ever, that the light that burns half as long burns twice as bright...

I bought this for my son, who is a herpetologist, but I read it as well and found I couldn't put it down. Well written and engrossing!

Mr. James has done a wonderful job with "The Snake Charmer." Along with helping us to know Dr. Joe Slowinski, he tells us more about the life of a herpetologist. We also learn about the ups and downs of organizing and carrying out field work, especially in a place like Burma, where political considerations are as important as more practical matters. I was particularly struck at the problems Dr. Slowinski's final expedition had as a result of different interests (herpetologists who move quickly, and botanists who do not), along with broken promises, horrible weather and so forth. And Mr. James explains his thorough and honest approach to gathering facts at the end. This is especially noteworthy, as the explanation of why Dr. Slowinski omitting something that was certainly instinctive - an omission which cost him his life - still eludes us. Yet, Mr. James does supply all the relevant, albeit general thoughts and observations of the expedition members as to the possible reasons for Dr. Slowinski's fatal laxness. And the description of Dr. Slowinski's final hours is tragic yes, but also quite evocative and educational. I heartily recommend "The Snake Charmer."