The Snake Charmer: A Life and Death in Pursuit of Knowledge

The true story of a brilliant herpetologist killed by a snake in the jungle of Burma is vividly recounted in this fascinating and harrowing biography. In the fall of 2001, star herpetologist Dr. Joe Slowinski led a team of scientists into the jungles of Burma to find rare snakes. But the expedition was cut short by a bite from a many-banded krait, the deadliest serpent in Asia. Suddenly, Joe’s life was in imminent peril. In one of the most remarkable wilderness rescue attempts of modern times, Joe’s teammates kept him alive for thirty hours by mouth-to-mouth respiration, waiting for a rescue that never came. A daredevil obsessed with venomous snakes since his youth, Joe was a study in contrasts—meticulous in his science yet reckless in his pursuit of knowledge. A brilliant biologist, he rose quickly to the top of his field, discovering a number of snake species in his brief yet exhilarating career. Part science biography and part travel literature, The Snake Charmer presents a lively introduction to the strange and fascinating world of snake science while transporting readers from the Everglades to Peru to Burma, in search of rattlesnakes, boa constrictors, kraits, and cobras.

© 2025 Grand Central Publishing (Ebook): 9781401395711

Release date

Ebook: 8 April 2025