Living Snakes of the World in Color

Rating:
Summary: Great starting point for herpetoculturists
Review: I have had this book for a while now and still refer to it when I have questions about food and habitat for certain species. I am still for a book that talks about all species of snakes whether they are common in captivity or almost(in some cases thought to be) extinct. The book covered the material it was designed for and was all in all a very good book.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent, basic guide to a large number of species.
Review: The book is intended to provide a basic overview of 400+ species of snake. Therefore, no time is wasted on introductions. The book is divided first into 3 categories: primitave snakes, Colubrids, and venomous snakes. These groups are further divided into family groups/regional groups. The author provides usually one (often more) color photograph to accompany the description of each individual species. Information is provided on habitat, geographic range, natural history, size, care, and reproduction for each species. With a few exceptions, the phototography is excellent. The overviews are brief, but the author provides information & photos of more species that I have found in any single book. The book is excellent for readers interested in venomous snakes. Over 1/3 of the book is dedicated to hard-to-find information/photos on sea snakes, elapids, viperids, and crotalids. The book contains a brief section on snake venom. The biggest weakness of the book is probably it's age (1987), but it is still well worth the investment. While the information on each snake is brief, I have not found a book containing species-specific information on as many species as the Mehertens book. To receive equivalent information, you would need to purchase multiple regional guides. A great guide for professionals and amateur snake lovers!

Rating:
Summary: An excellent, basic guide to a large number of species.
Review: The book is intended to provide a basic overview of 400+ species of snake. Therefore, no time is wasted on introductions. The book is divided first into 3 categories: primitave snakes, Colubrids, and venomous snakes. These groups are further divided into family groups/regional groups. The author provides usually one (often more) color photograph to accompany the description of each individual species. Information is provided on habitat, geographic range, natural history, size, care, and reproduction for each species. With a few exceptions, the phototography is excellent. The overviews are brief, but the author provides information & photos of more species that I have found in any single book. The book is excellent for readers interested in venomous snakes. Over 1/3 of the book is dedicated to hard-to-find information/photos on sea snakes, elapids, viperids, and crotalids. The book contains a brief section on snake venom. The biggest weakness of the book is probably it's age (1987), but it is still well worth the investment. While the information on each snake is brief, I have not found a book containing species-specific information on as many species as the Mehertens book. To receive equivalent information, you would need to purchase multiple regional guides. A great guide for professionals and amateur snake lovers!

Rating:
Summary: A useful overview, though not comprehensive.
Review: This book attempts to provide expansive coverage of snakes commonly seen by the public in zoos, private collections, and the pet trade. Ultimately, I was a bit disappointed by the book.

This book provides minimal, and I do mean minimal, coverage of "164 genera, 413 species, and 454 subspecies" according to the dust jacket. Of necessity, the amount of coverage devoted to each snake is limited. Still there's enough text to provide an overview of the species. Unfortunately, the book fails to mention many of the species that are currently available as reptile pets. More than half of the book is devoted to poisonous snakes, most of which the average reader is unlikely ever to encounter. I would have traded, say, the 15 pages of coverage on poisonous sea snakes for more discussion of snakes I'd be likely to see in my backyard or neighborhood pet store. Additionally, because the book is now over 10 years old, its taxonomy for a number of species is not longer correct or complete.

One of the big distinctions of this book is that it provides color photographs of all the species it describes. In most cases, the photographs range from good to excellent. This makes the blurry and out-of-focus pictures (e.g. Dumeril's boa on pp. 23 and blood python on pp. 59) stick out like a sore thumb. Some of these problems may be related to the printing of my copy, but in a number of cases the problems are a result of poor photographic technique. Especially frustrating when the species being photographed is commonly available! Still, these flaws are forgivable when compared against the general quality of the book.

"Living Snakes of the World in Color" succeeds at providing a pictorial introduction to hundreds of species of snake. Those uninterested in poisonous snakes, or those looking for comprehensive coverage of snakes available as "pets" might be better off with another book (although I have yet to find a reasonably priced book that fits the bill).

Rating:
Summary: A useful overview, though not comprehensive.
Review: This book attempts to provide expansive coverage of snakes commonly seen by the public in zoos, private collections, and the pet trade. Ultimately, I was a bit disappointed by the book.

This book provides minimal, and I do mean minimal, coverage of "164 genera, 413 species, and 454 subspecies" according to the dust jacket. Of necessity, the amount of coverage devoted to each snake is limited. Still there's enough text to provide an overview of the species. Unfortunately, the book fails to mention many of the species that are currently available as reptile pets. More than half of the book is devoted to poisonous snakes, most of which the average reader is unlikely ever to encounter. I would have traded, say, the 15 pages of coverage on poisonous sea snakes for more discussion of snakes I'd be likely to see in my backyard or neighborhood pet store. Additionally, because the book is now over 10 years old, its taxonomy for a number of species is not longer correct or complete.

One of the big distinctions of this book is that it provides color photographs of all the species it describes. In most cases, the photographs range from good to excellent. This makes the blurry and out-of-focus pictures (e.g. Dumeril's boa on pp. 23 and blood python on pp. 59) stick out like a sore thumb. Some of these problems may be related to the printing of my copy, but in a number of cases the problems are a result of poor photographic technique. Especially frustrating when the species being photographed is commonly available! Still, these flaws are forgivable when compared against the general quality of the book.

"Living Snakes of the World in Color" succeeds at providing a pictorial introduction to hundreds of species of snake. Those uninterested in poisonous snakes, or those looking for comprehensive coverage of snakes available as "pets" might be better off with another book (although I have yet to find a reasonably priced book that fits the bill).