Science in the Snakepit: Tales of the often eccentric people who have studied serpents over the centuries and have sometimes paid with their lives - Softcover

Shine, Rick

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1760796972 ISBN 13: 9781760796976

Publisher: Reed New Holland, 2026

Synopsis

People have always been fascinated by snakes, but only during the last few decades have researchers begun to reveal the secret lives of these most mysterious of animals. Rick Shine is one of the most eminent of those scientists, and his book describes the adventures and misadventures of researchers who have investigated the ecology and biology of these fantastic beasts – and sometimes, have paid with their lives.

This richly-illustrated title chronicles the revolution in our understanding of snakes, the new methods that have arisen to enable those breakthroughs, and the serendipitous and often-chaotic processes by which human beings accumulate insights into other forms of life. Recent years have witnessed an incredible flowering of snake-ecology research, with a rapidly expanding diversity not only of the snake species being studied and the places where this occurs, but also of the kinds of people making those discoveries.

Snakes are peculiar animals, and they attract peculiar people. This book captures the thrills and perils of a worldwide scientific leap forward, from fear and ignorance of snakes towards respect and understanding. This professional biologist’s ramble through the history of people’s attempt to understand the private lives of snakes – with lots of stories about the eccentric pioneers – will appeal to anyone with an interest in snakes and natural history.

About this title

About the Author

Rick Shine is a professional scientist, currently employed as a Professor at Macquarie  University in Sydney, Australia. For nearly five decades his primary research interest has been reptiles, especially snakes, in many parts of the world. He has published more than  1,000 scientific papers and his work has been cited more than 90,000 times — many more  than any other researcher on reptiles past or present — in the process winning many awards,  including the two top awards for scientific research in Australia: NSW Scientist of the Year and Prime Minister’s Prize for Science. 

Edition details

• Publisher: Reed New Holland
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1760796972
• ISBN 13: 9781760796976
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320