The Last Snake Man: The Remarkable True-Life Story of an Aussie Legend and a Century of Snake Shows

by John Cann

Every Sunday for almost a century John Cann's family ran the famous snake show in a pit at La Perouse - an area once alive with tiger, brown and black snakes. After growing up with over 300 'pet' snakes in their backyard, John and his brother George took over the snake show from their parents in 1965. By the time John retired in 2010, he'd survived five venomous snake bites.

Many of those familiar with John and his shows wouldn't know that he was also an Olympic athlete, a top state rugby league player who played alongside some of the legends of the game, a state champion boxer, an adventurer and a world authority on turtles.

The Last Snake Man chronicles John's extraordinary life and times. From wrangling snakes to chasing turtles, from remote country towns to the impenetrable jungles of New Guinea, this is the story of an amazing Australian and his never-ending search for fascinating animals and adventure.

320 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 1, 2018

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I choose this book as I believed it to be the biography of ‘The Snake Man’ who regularly displayed snakes at La Peruse. Many of us were both delighted and frightened by these shows. Although this book was that biography it was so much more. The author is an athlete at the elite level and also a naturalist and writer of great talent. An adventure story on every page.

[Lockie King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read shows a good insight into the reptile hobby back in the day lots of good stories of old school herpers