by Zander Perelman

“Snake Day” by Marty Crump (The University of Chicago Press) is a fantastic book, and one of my favorite pieces of writing that I’ve read in the past couple of years. This book is excellently written, easy to digest, and would make a quality addition to any herpetologists’ bookshelf. But part of what makes “Snake Day” special is that it isn’t just made for snake lovers, but also for those who might just be getting into snakes, or even for those who know nothing about snakes but find themselves intrigued by these incredible animals.

The book takes the reader on a journey across a single day, with each “hour” of the day (i.e., chapter) providing a look into the life of a different snake species. There is a wide diversity of snake species covered throughout the “day”, and interesting natural history information is provided for each of the different species. Additionally, for each species Crump does a great job of putting the results of several peer-reviewed publications into plain language that can be easily understood by anyone, giving the reader insight into the “scientific” side of what we know about each snake without any unnecessary jargon. A full list of scientific reference material for each chapter is provided at the end of the book, giving the reader the opportunity to take their journey even further if they are so inspired to do so, which I was in several instances!

As an unabashed viper lover, some of my favorite chapters included the Jararaca (3 AM), the Puff Adder (6 AM), and the Northern Pacific Rattlesnake (9 PM). It was fun to read about species I have familiarity with. But I thoroughly enjoyed all the different snake species discussed during the 24-hour journey, and for the species for which I knew relatively little about this book was a nice introduction to learning more about them. Along with informative writing, this book also offers stellar illustrations, courtesy of Stuart Patience, which really enhance the overall experience. Perhaps my favorite part of the book is the strong message delivered in the Epilogue, which highlights the importance of snakes in the natural world, and emphasizes that we must appreciate and conserve these animals, sentiments that I could not agree with more.

In case it isn’t clear from what I’ve written above, I feel strongly that everyone should go out and get a copy of “Snake Day” for themselves. No matter who you are and what your level of experience, interest, love, fear, etc. with snakes is, I believe you will benefit from being taken on the 24-hour journey that “Snake Day” provides. And hopefully, you will come away with a greater appreciation for what I personally think are the best animals on the planet, snakes.

Get to know IOB co author and book reviewer Zander Perelman

& be sure to read Zander’s blog and IOB paper