Rating: 
Summary: Don't Like Snakes? You'll Still Love It.
Review: A fascinating book which is hard to put down. Seal's writing is enjoyable. Seal explores both the reality and the myths of serpents. After reading this, I'm thankful again that poisonous snakes are confined to the western part of my state, far away from me.
Rating:
Summary: Snakes alive!
Review: As a snake owner (20+ years for a non-venomous one) and an author of a book about Cleopatra, how could I not order this book? When it arrived, I was delighted to find it was beautifully written and taught me about many species of snakes I did not know about, as well as the mind-set of those who seem undaunted by hunting and handling poisonous snakes. I know (from various herpetology society newsletters as well as regular news items) that the lure of breeding and keeping 'hot' snakes (as they are called in the trade) exerts a strong fascination for many. Jeremy Seal captures this psychology very well, as well as the attitude of most of us: we want to look at the deadly creatures, but not too closely.The book also gives fine background about the natural history of Australia and Africa, introduces a set of human 'characters' that you will never forget, and keeps the reader in suspense about many of the stories by shifting locales, like the old matinee cliff-hangers. Like another reader, my only suggestion for improvement would be that he would have come out against the rattlesnake roundups, which will soon be making an impact on the population of the rattlesnakes and sending them the way of the passenger pigeon or the dodo. Such elegant and beautiful creatures (who are only trying to eat and survive, after all) deserve better. Great book, great job, Mr. Seal! Thanks for writing it for snake and non-snake people alike.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book
Review: As somebody who loves snakes and history this book does an excellent job of combining both subjects. Mr. Seal not only talks about the snakes themselves but the locals' personal experiences and legends. A lot of the local history of snakes is covered as well in this book. Mr. Seal's own phobia of snakes provides the book with a bias which I found to be entertaining. If you would like a new perspective on the subject of herpetology I would suggest you read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book
Review: As somebody who loves snakes and history this book does an excellent job of combining both subjects. Mr. Seal not only talks about the snakes themselves but the locals' personal experiences and legends. A lot of the local history of snakes is covered as well in this book. Mr. Seal's own phobia of snakes provides the book with a bias which I found to be entertaining. If you would like a new perspective on the subject of herpetology I would suggest you read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: In pursuit of deadly snakes....
Review: As someone who loves both snakes and travel writing, I was intrigued by this book's topic. Though the author proclaims himself "phobic" of snakes, his attitude is probably closer to that of most people--a mixture of fear and fascination. Seal focuses on four snakes: taipan (Australia), cobra (India), black mamba (Africa) and diamondback rattler (United States). In each country, he pursues both the snake itself and the people fascinated by snakes. This travelogue explores psychological and religious affecting our relationship with snakes, as well as interspersing Bill Bryson-esque encounters with the people in each country (Seal is British, and thus a stranger in each land he visits). The author is amusing as well as informative; when dealing with snakes as venomous as these four, it's hard not to be dramatic. Historical tidbits (such as the Australian immigrant surrounding his home with snake-free Irish sod in hopes of repelling Australia's reptiles) lend a terrific feel to the book. The primary difficulty I experienced with this book is its format. Each chapter covers one segment of his experience in a different country in a rotating format (oddly, India doesn't appear until we've gone through about three segments in each of the other countries). This occasionally makes it difficult to follow the multiple story threads. Additionally, the saga of the American woman whose husband attempted to murder her with rattlesnakes is excessively long and drawn out. On the whole, however, this is a great read for anyone who either loves or hates snakes.
Rating:
Summary: In pursuit of deadly snakes....
Review: As someone who loves both snakes and travel writing, I was intrigued by this book's topic. Though the author proclaims himself "phobic" of snakes, his attitude is probably closer to that of most people--a mixture of fear and fascination. Seal focuses on four snakes: taipan (Australia), cobra (India), black mamba (Africa) and diamondback rattler (United States). In each country, he pursues both the snake itself and the people fascinated by snakes. This travelogue explores psychological and religious affecting our relationship with snakes, as well as interspersing Bill Bryson-esque encounters with the people in each country (Seal is British, and thus a stranger in each land he visits). The author is amusing as well as informative; when dealing with snakes as venomous as these four, it's hard not to be dramatic. Historical tidbits (such as the Australian immigrant surrounding his home with snake-free Irish sod in hopes of repelling Australia's reptiles) lend a terrific feel to the book. The primary difficulty I experienced with this book is its format. Each chapter covers one segment of his experience in a different country in a rotating format (oddly, India doesn't appear until we've gone through about three segments in each of the other countries). This occasionally makes it difficult to follow the multiple story threads. Additionally, the saga of the American woman whose husband attempted to murder her with rattlesnakes is excessively long and drawn out. On the whole, however, this is a great read for anyone who either loves or hates snakes.
Rating:
Summary: loads of fun...
Review: Fascinating. I love this kind of meandering book that doesn't feel the need to be about anything more specific than "snakes". I only have one minor complaint; occasionally it seems a little overwritten. I don't care much for the current trend of fiction-y writing in non-fiction. A story about a snake-handling preacher trying to murder his wife with rattlesnakes is quite riveting enough without embellishments. A minor complaint, though, of a very fun book. And I actually found the fragmented structure clever, appropriate, and not confusing at all.
Rating:
Summary: loads of fun...
Review: Fascinating. I love this kind of meandering book that doesn't feel the need to be about anything more specific than "snakes". I only have one minor complaint; occasionally it seems a little overwritten. I don't care much for the current trend of fiction-y writing in non-fiction. A story about a snake-handling preacher trying to murder his wife with rattlesnakes is quite riveting enough without embellishments. A minor complaint, though, of a very fun book. And I actually found the fragmented structure clever, appropriate, and not confusing at all.
Rating:
Summary: Wow! And he can write, too!
Review: I can't find enough words to praise Jeremy Seal's book. Not only is the concept brilliant--a journey around the world to confront his own personal fear of snakes--but his prose is absolutely breathtaking. He weaves stories throughout the book and revisits each story as it moves along toward a conclusion. There is just the right mixture of quasi-fiction (the American story) and travelogue. His mastery of innuendo, description, detail, etc., is at the "10" level. I'm looking forward to reading everything this man writes.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting snakes stuff..........
Review: I dreamed about being a herptologist as a boy, and my children's interests in reading about snakes revived my boyhood curiosity. I found this book in the library, and thoroughly enjoyed it. (And personally, I was glad that Mr. Seal was NOT a member of the club....:-)
I appreciated Mr. Seal's openness about his fear of snakes (one that I share). I would recommend this book to anyone interested in snakes.
A few random comments:
1. I was thrown off by a few British-isms scattered throughout the book. (Some sentences didn't make sense to my American ears. I suppose the same charge could be leveled at American authors. Still - I would encourage Mr. Seal to be more cautious about the use of slang in future books.)
2. Mr. Seal (or the editors) broke up the stories - I imagine in a way that was supposed to build tension in the reader. While I appreciate that device in some books (mostly fiction), I found it annoying in this one.
3. I found the sections on the fundamentalist snake holders to be fascinating (that STILL happens in America?!?), but I'd urge the author to be cautious of the conclusions he draws - America is a big country, with many different perspectives.
Not wanting to sound nationalistic. Just a few thoughts I had while I read the book.
Again - overall, I enjoyed it, and look forward to other books by the author. :-)
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