This is a book about some of nature's most alluring and forbidding creatures, written by a man with an abiding passion for snakes, as well as for science, the fate of the planet, and the wonder of life. Harry Greene presents every facet of the natural history of snakes—their diversity, evolution, and conservation—and at the same time makes a personal statement of why these animals are so compelling.

This book provides an up-to-date summary of the biology of snakes on a global basis. Eight chapters are devoted to general biology topics, including anatomy, feeding, venoms, predation and defense, social behavior, reproduction, evolution, and conservation; eight chapters survey the major snake groups, including blindsnakes, boas, colubrids, stiletto snakes, cobras, sea snakes, and vipers. Details of particular interest, such as coral snake mimicry and the evolution of the0 rattle, are highlighted as special topics. Chapter introductory essays are filled with anecdotes that will tempt nonspecialists to read on, while the book's wealth of comprehensive information will gratify herpeto-culturalists and professional biologists.

Greene's writing is clear, engaging, and full of appreciation for his subject. Michael and Patricia Fogden are known internationally for their outstanding work, and their stunning color photographs of snakes in their natural habitats are a brilliant complement to Greene's text. Here is a scientific book that provides accurate information in an accessible way to general readers, strongly advocates for a persecuted group of animals, encourages conservation—not just of snakes but of ecosystems—and credits science for enriching our lives. In helping readers explore the role of snakes in human experience, Greene and the Fogdens show how science and art can be mutual pathways to understanding.

Harry W. Greene is Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Cornell University. He was formerly the Curator of Herpetology the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, and Professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of California, Berkeley, where he won the campuswide Distinguished Teaching Award in 1993. In 2000, he was awarded the third Edward Osborne Wilson Naturalist Award, presented by the American Society of Naturalists. Michael and Patricia Fogden are acclaimed nature photographers whose work has appeared in such publications as Smithsonian and Natural History, and in books published by Time-Life, National Geographic, and Audubon. They live in Costa Rica.

“Greene’s book is a masterpiece, filled with beautiful photography and myriad interesting details.”—Tom Butler, Wild Earth

"An extremely well-written and scientific introduction to the evolutionary biology of snakes, interwoven with folklore and original observations on their natural history, supported by a massive bibliography and index. The hundreds of outstanding colour photographs . . . not only illustrate the various species but often show them in action. . . . This is a book to read for interest and pleasure as well as for accurate and original scientific information."— J.L. Cloudsley-Thompson, Nature

"It is a big book on a big subject--as rich in its way as a volume of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, say, or the complete works of John Irving. . . . Filled with a planet's wealth of snakes, informed by Greene's lifetime of study in evolutionary biology and herpetology, illustrated gorgeously with photographs by Michael Fogden and Patricia Fogden, it gives vivid concreteness to that beleaguered abstraction, biological diversity. . . . Would it seem overmuch to say that no household, no serious library, should lack a copy of this stunning book? I don't think so. Life is short, but snakes are long."—David Quammen, New York Times Book Review

"A remarkable volume. . . .Greene and the Fogdens have produced a luscious visual feast--a celebration of snake diversity-- with extensive factual information intermingled with current concepts in evolutionary biology. . . .For those of us who share Greene's passion for these mysterious and poorly known animals, this book is undoubtedly a landmark publication."— Richard Shine, Science

"Anyone who reads this book will learn a great deal about snakes and about their habitats. Perhaps more importantly, they will also learn why they so capture the imaginations of the people who study them."—New Scientist

"I can think of no better way to capture the essence of this astonishing book than to relate a simple fact: twice while reading it, I was moved to tears. How can a scholarly treatise on the biology of snakes evoke such a response? The answer has something to do with the masterful way Harry Greene blends an encyclopedic knowledge of snake natural history with extensive personal experience and insight. . . . In Snakes, Greene has combined in one place and at one time, a massive compendium of snake biology, an explication of snakes and society, and a moving account of his own life’s journey. . . . Only Harry Greene could have written Snakes; it bears the unique imprint of his life and career. . . . In writing about what he knows best, Greene’s voice is intensely ‘personal,’ and therein lies the triumph of this book."—Natural History

"In what is surely one of the most thorough herpetological texts ever produced, Greene’s text is accessible to both a general and a specialized audience."—Science News

"Let us simply say that [Snakes] is one of the best books on snakes to have come out in years. . . . Greene has written a book rich with substantial information and insights. This is one of the finest overviews of snakes written to date is accompanied by the outstanding photographs of world renown wildlife photographers Michael and Patricia Fogden. A must for any snake aficionado or anyone wanting to acquire a general knowledge on this group of reptiles."—Vivarium Magazine

"[Greene] has achieved an excellent blend of carefully selected information, revealing anecdote and personal reflection that makes the text unusually interesting and stimulating. The photographs are outstanding. Many of them are not just portraits of snakes, but have been carefully chosen to reveal features of their habitats, mode of locomotion, feeding mechanisms and sexual habitats. . . . One hopes that this book will help to alter attitudes to snakes, so that they cease to be persecuted and feared, but come to be appreciated and valued for the remarkable and fascinating creatures that they are."—Times Literary Supplement

"Greene has done us a service by producing this magnificent book about one of the least understood and most misunderstood of all the creatures we live with. . . . I warmly commend this excellent volume as quite the finest on the subject I have so far seen."—Times Higher Education Supplement

"In this gorgeous book, [Greene] introduces the reader to the astonishing beauty and variety of the world’s snakes. . . . The exquisite, close-up photographs by Michael and Patricia Fogden are beautifully teamed with Greene’s text, which contains page are page of surprising information."—Washington Post

"[Greene] provides a marvelous account of every aspect of the life of snakes . . . and in doing so illustrates the practical, everyday side of evolutionary biology."—London Review of Books

"Instantly arresting for its magnificent color photographs of the faces, fangs and slithering bodies that scare the wits out of most onlookers, this definitive study of snakes invites us to experience an intimacy with the serpent would we may never have thought possible. . . . So for readers afraid of snakes, the effect of reading this accessible book is one of unclenching jaw and gut as Greene points out little-known facts that put us in awe of snake life."—San Francisco Chronicle

"One nine-year old spotted . . . the front cover from across the room, exclaimed, ‘Is that about snakes? Cool!’ and immediately began leafing through the book. . . . What lies in between . . . are the valuable insights into creatures that evoked a range of emotions in the humans that share their world."—Christian Science Monitor

"This is a work of scientific seriousness written by a man who is alert to where our fascination with snakes really lies: They are anomalous beings with a reputation for deadliness. The photographs in the book are indescribably powerful. . . . There is no question that morbid attraction dragged me into these pages, but their substance made it difficult to leave them. Greene explores the evolutionary oddness of snakes, their singular anatomy, their various approaches to life and their relations with human beings, engagingly and in great depth. I cannot imagine a person who would not rejoice in this book."—Boston Sunday Globe

"Snakes fascinate most people, and Greene is able to express both his own fascination and love for snakes and his scientific curiosity about them in the same phraseology. . . . An extensive bibliography completes an excellent book."—Booklist

"A comprehensive and deeply satisfying exploration of that much-maligned creature, the snake. . . . Emerging from this work is a creature less to be reviled than to be admired, demonstrating extraordinary evolutionary adaptability, fabulous variety, and spectacular coloration."—Kirkus Reviews

"A marvelous, well-written account of the science, natural history, lore, and poetry of snakes by a world authority. Greene has the valuable gift of sharing his own many field adventures with the reader."—Edward O. Wilson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Pellegrino University Professor, Harvard University

PEN Center USA West Literary Award for Research-Based Nonfiction, The PEN Center
Silver medal in Notable Contribution to Publishing, The Commonwealth Club of California