United States
£ GBP
Reformatted, redesigned edition of a popular title first published in 2005. Mark O'Shea has combined expertly written, in-depth descriptions of the world's most common and most exotic venomous snakes with a gripping account of his adventures with these creatures, including several serious snakebite episodes, that have taken place all over the world. From the few European venomous snakes, such as the Adder, to Rattlesnakes, Cobras, Taipans, Mambas and Seasnakes that inhabit other countries, all the major snake species are covered.
There are also chapters that explain venomous snake evolution, types of venom, the effects of venom, and that discuss the problems with snake conservation. No matter how fearsome these creatures might appear, they all play a vital part in the natural world as both predators and prey. Illustrated throughout with spectacular photographs, many of them the author's own, this book celebrates the diversity and beauty of snakes worldwide.
Mark O'Shea is a herpetologist, television broadcaster, zoologist, author, photographer, lecturer and public speaker, and was the Consultant Curator of Reptiles at West Midland Safari Park in the UK for 33 years. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, Linnean Society of London, and Explorers' Club of New York. He was awarded one of only eight Millennium Awards for Services to Exploration, by the British Chapter of the Explorers' Club in 2000 and an Honorary Doctor of Sciences degree, for services to herpetology, by the University of Wolverhampton in 2001. In 2015 Czech herpetologists voted Mark "Snakeman of the Year". He became Professor of Herpetology at the University of Wolverhampton in September 2018 and was awarded an MBE in 2020 for services to High Education, Zoology, Reptile Conservation and Snakebite Research.
His life has revolved around snakes for more than five decades and is an advocate for snake conservation. Between 1999 and 2003 Mark presented four seasons of the internationally acclaimed O'Shea's Big Adventure for Animal Planet, co-produced with the UK's Channel 4 as O'Shea's Dangerous Reptiles. He has now presented over forty documentaries including films for Discovery Channel, ITV, and the BBC. Mark has conducted herpetological fieldwork, or made films, on every continent except Antarctica. He has authored seven books, including A Book of Snakes: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species from around the World (2018) and Lizards of the World (2021), and is working on a slow burn revision of A Guide to the Snakes of Papua New Guinea.
