The New Encyclopedia of Snakes by Chris Mattison

by Chris Mattison

Often the stuff of phobias, always the source of fascination, snakes have long charmed nature watchers of all stripes. This beautifully illustrated book covers the most popular aspects of snake biology and is intended to be the most informative and comprehensive title on the subject yet published.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Natural History, Reference

Hardcover

First published August 31, 1995

Reviews

[Marty Essen · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a nature writer and speaker, I own a large collection of natural history encyclopedias. The New Encyclopedia of Snakes is one of my favorite reference books for two reasons:

Although some snake guides have more pictures, the photography in this one is outstanding. The photos are generally large and often show the surrounding habitat. If you want to identify a particular species of snake, this book is a great place to start.

What I like best in this book, however, are its extensive natural history sections. Subjects range from evolution to senses to locomotion to habitats to hunting methods to reproduction to predators to defense strategies.

I recommend The New Encyclopedia of Snakes not only for adult snake lovers, but also for budding young naturalists. If this book were available when I was kid, I would have had every page memorized in no time. If you buy this book for a child (fourth grade or older), don’t be surprised if a college major in herpetology becomes part of his or her plan!

Marty Essen,author of Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents

[Perrilyn Pringle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very nice, not what I was looking for though.

[Lone Wolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good overview of snakes, though I did notice the odd error (the author seems to think only reptiles have a Jacobson’s organ, for example). There is a decent amount of information given for snakes as a whole, but it doesn’t go into too much detail about any one species or group. I’d personally have liked to see more photographs, but the ones that are featured are nice.

[Leonca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic resource, packed with information and beautiful photographs. I learned all kinds of things, like how snakes can be adaptable enough to survive in colder climates than I expected. It is unfortunate that the editing missed so many typos, but the presentation is well organized so I won’t count it against the author.

[Yuuto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chock full of information and very thorough. The only drawback is that it’s written like a stodgy old professor is talking to you, so at times I had to flip ahead to a different section or take breaks from reading, or risk falling asleep.

[PoachingFacts · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Encyclopedia of Snakes (1995) by wildlife photographer, writer, and professional herpetologist Christopher Mattison is a remarkably keen and interesting dissection of every type of snake, the origin of snake families (if known), and in-depth information on hundreds of modern snake species. Its accessibility for people casually interested in snakes and for amateur herpetologists makes it an ideal reference book.

This reference book is not truly an encyclopedia and does not have the format of one, however its information and breadth is "encyclopedic" and it is well sourced by its experienced and world-renowned author, the numerous footnotes, and in the "bibliography" which is more of a "recommended reading" selection of books which this Encyclopedia of Snakes builds on. Roughly 200 amazing color photographs and illustrations provide background to snake behavior, morphology, food supply, and distribution. It should be noted that while all of the photos are fantastic in subject and color, some of the photos do depict animals (and eggs) being eaten. These photos are not particularly graphic and are academic in nature.

The Encyclopedia of Snakes is organized into 10 distinct themes beginning with the origin and evolution of snakes, their morphology (different sizes, shapes, means of movement, etc.), and ending with human-wildlife conflict and conservation of snakes, taxonomy, and classification. In roughly 250 pages Mattison is able to comprehensively touch on every aspect of snake life, reproduction, and death while retaining a format that is capable of keeping casual readers interested and amateur herpetologists impressed.

Interspersed throughout the pages on snake families and specific species are anecdotal and tangential facts which natural history lovers and snake lovers will find very interesting. These facts provide a basis for casual readers to explore the world of snakes and cover such topics as: radio-tracking snakes; population decline; snakes in folk culture; Brusher Mills, a 19th-century English snake catcher; species diversity on islands; and
temperature tolerance.

A recent revision to this book, simply titled The New Encyclopedia of Snakes (2007), is nearly 20 pages longer and builds on the existing structure by adding several newly identified snake families and adds references to hundreds of new snake species. It also corrects classification and taxonomic information from the previous edition that has gone out of date in the intervening years.

[Abhishak Kannoth · Rating 1 out of 5]

i dind read this book