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Venom Doc: The Edgiest, Darkest, Strangest Natural History Memoir Ever
Steve Irwin meets David Attenborough in this jaw-dropping account of studying the world’s most venomous creatures.
Venomologist Bryan Grieg Fry has one of the most dangerous jobs on earth: he works with its deadliest creatures. He’s been bitten by twenty-six venomous snakes, been stung by three stingrays, and survived a near-fatal scorpion sting while deep in the Amazon jungle. He’s received more than four hundred stitches and broken twenty-three bones, including breaking his back in three places, and had to learn how to walk again. But when you research only the venom you yourself have collected, the adventures—and danger—never stop.
Imagine a three-week-long first date in Siberia catching venomous water shrews with the daughter of a Russian war hero; a wedding attended by Eastern European prime ministers and their machine-gun-wielding bodyguards and snakes; or leading a team to Antarctica that results in the discovery of four new species of venomous octopi. Bryan’s discoveries have radically reshaped views on venom evolution and contributed to the creation of venom-based life-saving medications. In pursuit of venom, he has traveled the world collecting samples from Indonesia to Mexico, Germany, and Brazil. He’s encountered venomous creatures of all kinds, including the Malaysian king cobra, the Komodo dragon, and the brush-footed trapdoor spider. Bryan recounts his lifelong passion for studying the world’s most venomous creatures in this outlandish, captivating memoir, where he and danger are never far apart.
Venomologist Bryan Grieg Fry has one of the most dangerous jobs on earth: he works with its deadliest creatures. He’s been bitten by twenty-six venomous snakes, been stung by three stingrays, and survived a near-fatal scorpion sting while deep in the Amazon jungle. He’s received more than four hundred stitches and broken twenty-three bones, including breaking his back in three places, and had to learn how to walk again. But when you research only the venom you yourself have collected, the adventures—and danger—never stop.
Imagine a three-week-long first date in Siberia catching venomous water shrews with the daughter of a Russian war hero; a wedding attended by Eastern European prime ministers and their machine-gun-wielding bodyguards and snakes; or leading a team to Antarctica that results in the discovery of four new species of venomous octopi. Bryan’s discoveries have radically reshaped views on venom evolution and contributed to the creation of venom-based life-saving medications. In pursuit of venom, he has traveled the world collecting samples from Indonesia to Mexico, Germany, and Brazil. He’s encountered venomous creatures of all kinds, including the Malaysian king cobra, the Komodo dragon, and the brush-footed trapdoor spider. Bryan recounts his lifelong passion for studying the world’s most venomous creatures in this outlandish, captivating memoir, where he and danger are never far apart.
316 pages, Hardcover
First published August 25, 2015
63 people are currently reading
183 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
January 31, 2019
The parts about venom were very interesting however he spends the majority of this memoir being an alpha male and bigging himself up. He can also be extremely judgemental and racist and seems to think he's better than everyone else.
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September 16, 2023Sigh....
I'll start with an easy fact to say that the science of this book was fascinating. Venom is a crazy evolutionary development and the science behind creating anti-venoms are an important masterpiece for humankind.
The rest of the book left me with a little sadness and a lot of anger. Unfortunately, it's not because I felt for the man who risked his life to educate and better the world, but because I was disappointed by his need for constant validation of having a penis that he knows how to use.
I was pulled out of the story often because the author felt the need to constantly remind us of how Alpha- egotistical of a male he was. Making sexist remarks and stereotype assumptions does not make you more relatable or masculine. It makes you annoying and harder for others to just enjoy the science behind your work. As a woman who graduated in stem, this was a disappointment. I hesitated even pointing this out, but it would be unfair to myself and those who are in the field and suffer from this type of casual use of language every day. I'm not saying that his female colleagues have suffered from the treatment that he suggests to his audience in the memoir (let's hope not) but putting these thoughts in literature can be just as dangerous.
With all that, I am grateful for the contribution to science and the fascinating world and risk a Venomologist as experienced as himself has shared with us. I will recommend any scientific work done by him but will unlikely recommend this particular book. I will not contribute to the ratings of this book, good nor bad. Again, I'm just simply disappointed.
Don't meet your heroes, kids.
I'll start with an easy fact to say that the science of this book was fascinating. Venom is a crazy evolutionary development and the science behind creating anti-venoms are an important masterpiece for humankind.
The rest of the book left me with a little sadness and a lot of anger. Unfortunately, it's not because I felt for the man who risked his life to educate and better the world, but because I was disappointed by his need for constant validation of having a penis that he knows how to use.
I was pulled out of the story often because the author felt the need to constantly remind us of how Alpha- egotistical of a male he was. Making sexist remarks and stereotype assumptions does not make you more relatable or masculine. It makes you annoying and harder for others to just enjoy the science behind your work. As a woman who graduated in stem, this was a disappointment. I hesitated even pointing this out, but it would be unfair to myself and those who are in the field and suffer from this type of casual use of language every day. I'm not saying that his female colleagues have suffered from the treatment that he suggests to his audience in the memoir (let's hope not) but putting these thoughts in literature can be just as dangerous.
With all that, I am grateful for the contribution to science and the fascinating world and risk a Venomologist as experienced as himself has shared with us. I will recommend any scientific work done by him but will unlikely recommend this particular book. I will not contribute to the ratings of this book, good nor bad. Again, I'm just simply disappointed.
Don't meet your heroes, kids.
October 11, 2015
Bryan is a natural born story teller. It took me about 100 pages to overcome his huge alpha male ego and the strong feeling that he's likely a rather unreliable witness. If you're struggling to get into this book, I suggest you stick with it. Once he gets into the details of lizard venom, it's fascinating. Also, the ego makes way for humble and honest self reflection which I found most compelling. Also, his healthy skepticism about the Australian government and the appalling treatment of the environment align with my own views. And the photos are pretty great too.Thoroughly recommended.
August 30, 2018
Although I found this book fascinating, I was stunned by Bryan Frey's klutziness. He seemed to be always, tripping, falling or getting bit, fairly unnerving behavior for a man working with venomous animals. It is amazing to me how little we know about many of the creatures that share our earth. I was also reminded again about the importance of conservation and how unresearched decisions impact fragile ecosystems. Potentially life saving plants and animals can be destroyed in a single generation. It was a thought provoking book.
May 26, 2022
Wow! This memoir is a constant barrage of near-death experiences and tantalizing details about snake/reptile/the very infrequent mammal wrangling/milking/researching. I found it riveting! Truly incredible to know some people live like this. It definitely made me want to get out and explore my natural surroundings more...but from a SAFE distance. No interacting here! My only knock to it is the writing style can be a little unrefined at times but the imagery is quite graphic and descriptive and the subject matter is hands down, fascinating.
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January 29, 2023If you are interested in reptiles this is a book for you! The experiences with poisonous snakes, lizards and frogs are very interesting. I can't recall the many trips to hospitals he has made due to venomous reptile bites, coming close to death. Many of his good friends and fellow herpetologists died after being bitten, unable to either get medical care or an antivenom that was effective. These people collected, studied, and milked these reptiles to capture venom for the purpose of developing effective antivenoms. His writing style turned facts into an interesting story.
October 31, 2023
As advertised on the cover, Venom Doc is a crazy memoir about Bryan Fry, a guy that studies really poisonous animals around the world.
His life has been pretty exciting, to say the least, if you find being bitten by snakes and crushing your spine exciting. The whole memoir tastes a bit like, Jackass meets The Crocodile Hunter. And it's quite a bit of fun.
It's a rather incredible story that might teach you a thing or two about all the things in nature that can kill you. Definitely worth a read.
His life has been pretty exciting, to say the least, if you find being bitten by snakes and crushing your spine exciting. The whole memoir tastes a bit like, Jackass meets The Crocodile Hunter. And it's quite a bit of fun.
It's a rather incredible story that might teach you a thing or two about all the things in nature that can kill you. Definitely worth a read.
September 19, 2018
Danger seeker
Interesting encounters with venomous animals, especially snakes. The book takes you thru many bites and discoveries, which was very exciting. I also learned about Komodo dragons and their poison glands which was very enlightening. I heard that they had dangerous bacteria in their bite and he showed how they were venomous. Last chapter about his wife was unneeded, but maybe she forced him to write it. A little too enchanted with academics.
Interesting encounters with venomous animals, especially snakes. The book takes you thru many bites and discoveries, which was very exciting. I also learned about Komodo dragons and their poison glands which was very enlightening. I heard that they had dangerous bacteria in their bite and he showed how they were venomous. Last chapter about his wife was unneeded, but maybe she forced him to write it. A little too enchanted with academics.
April 19, 2021
Very interesting read if you can get through the fist couple of chapters. Dangerous, poisonous reptiles was never my thing but I did have to study them years ago when teaching survival in the military years ago. To see the advances in understanding venom and its complexity is astonishing. I thank the author for his quest to understand it and impart that knowledge. Years ago it was just hemotoxins or neurotoxins.
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August 7, 2023- This is one of those entertaining and educational reads told from a informal friendly point of view as if in a conversation in a pub over a pint. While I am a more managed risk-aversion type person ,I have an admiration for peopl who are willing to learn the skills necessary to live closer to the edge, survive, albeit through the cost of pain and some suffering, and then write to tell the rest of us about it.
August 20, 2020
As a biology nerd, I was fascinated by the descriptions of the rare snakes and monitor lizards. As someone with a 12 year old's sense of humour, I delighted in the unrelenting gross and graphic descriptions. Could have lived without the alpha male strutting and chest beating, as others here have noted. It's still very much a worthwhile read if you are really into snakes.
December 11, 2022
I was captivated by this book. I mostly enjoyed it because the writing style was like he was verbally telling you a story. Not perfect, very colorful at times, and not always politically correct, but it felt honest and was a very entertaining read. Plus, the information about the venom was very interesting.
May 13, 2020
There were a lot of parts of this book that I really liked- but there were also odd moments of almost racism that were uncomfortable to read. Generally interesting if you like adventure and a conversational tone.
April 21, 2022
This was surprisingly enjoyable. I love to hear people speak with passion and the author definitely has a passion. And quite an adventurous life! Not recommended if you have any phobia around snakes or other reptiles. But fascinating stuff I never knew that I wanted to know. 😎
August 2, 2023
PHENOMENAL READ!! If you've ever wondered about the planet's most lethal creatures, or if you have a medical curiosity about toxin research-- this is a must read. This book is very well written and incredibly entertaining!
June 2, 2018
Great biography, written with a perfect style.
January 15, 2022
enjoyed the first third of this book but then it turned into a litany of injuries, trips, and more injuries. I got bored and stopped reading
gave-up
March 16, 2022Random sexism almost immediately. Really kept me from getting into it. Officially gave up when he described how “erotic” it felt to have a shaved head.
June 5, 2022
Edge-lord cringe but overall a pretty decent read.
October 15, 2024
This is a storyline of a man who changed his course of life studying venomous creatures.who became great at it.
October 4, 2016
Venom Doc: The Edgiest, Darkest, Strangest Natural History Memoir Ever by Bryan Grieg Fry is the very highly recommended memoir of a professional venom biologist.
In this very appealing conversational style memoir Bryan Grieg Fry, Australia's most renowned field biologist/venomologist, shares stories, jokes, close calls and quips. Ultimately it is all about what he loves: venomous creatures. Yup. Fry loves all things poisonous and deadly. He has been "bitten by twenty-six venomous snakes, been stung by three stingrays, and survived a near-fatal scorpion sting while deep in the Amazon jungle. He’s received more than four hundred stitches and broken twenty-three bones, including breaking his back in three places, and had to learn how to walk again." I know this may surprise all of you, but Fry lives a much more exciting, adrenaline pumped life than I do and I'm good with that.
(Check out the website for YouTube videos and more information: http://www.venomdoc.com/)
There are also many pictures to be found online of Fry and venomous creatures, but the book does include a section of black and white photos.
The great thing about Venom Doc is that you don't need a scientific background to enjoy it as Fry will explain any scientific or technical terms he uses and has made this memoir for the general public. While entertaining you, and you will be entertained (and maybe a bit horrified at his actions), he will also educate you. It is fast-paced and does not have any slow or boring sections, which is sort of what I expected and therefore was pleased about finding true. If you need to set this aside while reading it it will be because you needed the break, either because the action was overwhelming or creeped you out (guilty). It's not all just for the thrills, though. Fry's discoveries have contributed to venom-based medications that can save lives.
Disclosure: My advanced reading copy was courtesy of the publisher for review purposes.
In this very appealing conversational style memoir Bryan Grieg Fry, Australia's most renowned field biologist/venomologist, shares stories, jokes, close calls and quips. Ultimately it is all about what he loves: venomous creatures. Yup. Fry loves all things poisonous and deadly. He has been "bitten by twenty-six venomous snakes, been stung by three stingrays, and survived a near-fatal scorpion sting while deep in the Amazon jungle. He’s received more than four hundred stitches and broken twenty-three bones, including breaking his back in three places, and had to learn how to walk again." I know this may surprise all of you, but Fry lives a much more exciting, adrenaline pumped life than I do and I'm good with that.
(Check out the website for YouTube videos and more information: http://www.venomdoc.com/)
There are also many pictures to be found online of Fry and venomous creatures, but the book does include a section of black and white photos.
The great thing about Venom Doc is that you don't need a scientific background to enjoy it as Fry will explain any scientific or technical terms he uses and has made this memoir for the general public. While entertaining you, and you will be entertained (and maybe a bit horrified at his actions), he will also educate you. It is fast-paced and does not have any slow or boring sections, which is sort of what I expected and therefore was pleased about finding true. If you need to set this aside while reading it it will be because you needed the break, either because the action was overwhelming or creeped you out (guilty). It's not all just for the thrills, though. Fry's discoveries have contributed to venom-based medications that can save lives.
Disclosure: My advanced reading copy was courtesy of the publisher for review purposes.
September 18, 2015
Venom Doc follows the amazing life of U.S born Australian Venomologist Dr Fry, who has travelled the world in search of all things venomous.
Dr Fry is able to tell his story in a way that keeps you highly entertained, from horrifying accounts of being bitten or stung by animals, sad accounts of friends and colleagues passing away from bites and occasional hilarious stories about friends chasing leprechauns through forests (you need to read it to believe it.)
You are able to learn amazing things from this book without realising it, I would never of guessed that so many modern medications come from venom, and that Dr Fry has studied his whole life to help make these life saving medications.
I have always had a fascination with reptiles, although I have never had a chance to actually own one. I was unfortunate to come across a brown snake once that killed my Great Dane dog in such a short time after being bit, it amazes me that Dr Fry could live through so many bites and get out there again and again. (have a read of the interview underneath to see how his family deal with this.) I have not been able to look at snakes the same way although they still fascinate me, I have a healthy understanding with them, leave me alone and I will leave you alone.
In summary this book is Amazing definitely put it on Christmas lists if you can wait that long, but do your self a favour and read this book. I never knew animals could be so amazing with what their venom can do, and this is Dr Fry’s goal to let people know that without these amazing creatures we would not have so many life saving drugs available today.
Dr Fry is able to tell his story in a way that keeps you highly entertained, from horrifying accounts of being bitten or stung by animals, sad accounts of friends and colleagues passing away from bites and occasional hilarious stories about friends chasing leprechauns through forests (you need to read it to believe it.)
You are able to learn amazing things from this book without realising it, I would never of guessed that so many modern medications come from venom, and that Dr Fry has studied his whole life to help make these life saving medications.
I have always had a fascination with reptiles, although I have never had a chance to actually own one. I was unfortunate to come across a brown snake once that killed my Great Dane dog in such a short time after being bit, it amazes me that Dr Fry could live through so many bites and get out there again and again. (have a read of the interview underneath to see how his family deal with this.) I have not been able to look at snakes the same way although they still fascinate me, I have a healthy understanding with them, leave me alone and I will leave you alone.
In summary this book is Amazing definitely put it on Christmas lists if you can wait that long, but do your self a favour and read this book. I never knew animals could be so amazing with what their venom can do, and this is Dr Fry’s goal to let people know that without these amazing creatures we would not have so many life saving drugs available today.
January 5, 2016
Repetitive snakebites
A must-not read. How to get bitten by snakes and enjoy working out what one's reaction will be. Sorry, but I was secretly hoping the next bite would be the last and would incapacitate the writer and truncate the "story". Alas, more bites, more boredom. The title is one of the most inaccurate I have seen - it's not edgy, it's not dark and it certainly isn't strange.
A must-not read. How to get bitten by snakes and enjoy working out what one's reaction will be. Sorry, but I was secretly hoping the next bite would be the last and would incapacitate the writer and truncate the "story". Alas, more bites, more boredom. The title is one of the most inaccurate I have seen - it's not edgy, it's not dark and it certainly isn't strange.
November 29, 2020
This was a very informative read about the research of one of the world's premier experts in venoms of snakes and other highly toxic reptiles. His research has resulted in the development of anti-venoms for many of the most dangerous snakes in the world.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews