Product Description
Tales of Giant Snakes, examines the natural history of four species of snakes known to exceed 20 feet in length. Based on the writings of explorers, missionaries, scientists, and adventurers over the past 200 years, the authors have pieced together exciting and informative glimpses into the lives of these legless giants. Included are chapters on where they are found (often around human habitations), what they eat (includes crocodiles, deer, and cows), how big do they really get (a controversial subject), attacks on humans (rare), exploitation by humans for their skins, and conservation. The book is illustrated with photos, historical lithographs, maps, and graphs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Great Tales!
I purchased this book for my son and he has enjoyed it just as much as he thought he would.

Truth about Size of Giant Snakes
The truth about the size of Giant Snakes, you will discover that their size is very far from the giant sizes you normally see in books and in internet all over the world. I was looking for more pictures of big snakes in this book.

This book is cool.
this book is cool, i also know the guy, he works at the high schoo

A delightful debunking of the myths about the biggest snakes
Hollywood has not been kind to the long constrictor.In its view, they drop out of trees or rise up out of rivers, big as buses and determined to squeeze the guts out of that hapless human being who has wandered withinreach of their treacherous or lecherous (depending upon the sex of thevictim) coils.Though big snakes have, in fact, never been much interestedin people, people have always been fascinated by them.Sensational storiesof villagers squashed and gobbled up by monstrous serpents fill theaccounts of explorers and early "naturalists."For all thesatisfying fear they engender in far removed readers, such stories do thesnakes injustice and divert attention from their remarkable morphology andliving habits.These authors are scientists, but they are also literateand obviously snake enthusiasts.So while they stick to the facts, theywrite clearly and engagingly in defense of remarkable animals who, when itcomes to encounters with humans, are much more sinned against than sinning.There are chapters about feeding and breeding of course.But thereis also a serious review of the extraordinary stories that impute lengthsof sixty or more feet to anacondas and pythons.By the time the myths havebeen detonated, the terrified lay reader is ready for an honest answer tothe question, "How long can a snake grow?"Read the book to findout.But I will say it is longer than some buses.

The Facts and Nothing But the Facts
I purchased this book on a whim, knowing of the authors' credibility. When I got in to it, I realized it was going to be more than I expected.This work discredits one by one all the ridiculous length claims on snakes from around the world. Instead of these (sometimes outrageous) claims, the authors provide you with THE FACTS AND NOTHING BUT THE FACTS!

It is about time herpers spread the honest truth about these species to the general public, rather than the typical "My python should hit thirty-five feet because that's the maximum size!".

This book is an educational experience for ANYONE with an interest in these species or herps in general. I wholeheartedly recommend it!

The human attack accounts are pretty eye-opening, too! ... Read more

Product Description
"The Greedy Python" is quick to gobble up every creature he meets--including to his own great misfortune, himself, when he mistakes the tip of his tail for a lunchtime treat. Full-color illustrations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Not what I thought
This product was in worst condition than the one I wanted to replace. It came with book tape on the spine and pages where on the brink of falling out.

Being greedy is not a good idea!
Buckley and Carle are a winning duo with the story of the greediest python there is!

We learn how huge his stomach is and about all the animals he eats.In fact, he eats so many they make a ruckus inside his belly.They even make him quite sick!He coughs up each of the animals he's eaten, but then he's even hungrier than before.What he does next goes to show that being greedy isn't always the best thing.

Carle's illustrations of a frog leaping, a bat hanging, and a bird flying are just some of the colorful animals this python ate.

Add this to your library, as it will be fun to read over and over again.

My favorite Eric Carle book
I love Eric Carle's artwork but his writing isn't all that great on some of his books.But this one is great.Maybe because it's written by Richard Buckley.

It has a great rhyme, it's quick and makes a good board book for infants or toddlers, it's funny.

I really like this book.

Good story with a lesson
This was an interesting story. The greedy python keeps eating beyond what it can handle, and doesn't stop even when he is tempted by his own tail. He eats himself into nothing.A good simple lesson on being too greedy.
My daughter likes the illustrations. It's not my favorite Carle book, but I think it's interesting enough that it would be a good addition to your child's library.

science
This book is great to read to children and to teach science.My son and some other children had a blast when I read them this book.Great work!!! ... Read more

Product Description

"Discovery Channel junkie" meets "weekend warrior" in this true story of a terrified desk dweller who sets out to capture the world's longest snake. Out of funding, acclaimed poet Robert Twigger was surfing the Internet for poetry prizes when he came upon a cash reward being offered for the capture of a live snake in excess of thirty feet. Established in 1912 by President Roosevelt following the capture of a twenty-eight-foot reticulated python, the reward had gone unclaimed for eighty-six years, boosting the $1,000 prize to $50,000. About to be married but craving one last adventure, the scrawny Oxford poet sets off for the Far East without either hesitation or serious strategy. No matter that his closest encounter with a live snake was at the reptile house at the Howlett Zoo or that he suffers from ophicliophobia, a fear nearly universal among humans. Twigger is determined to win the moneyand to guarantee that his last escapade as a bachelor will be an unforgettable one.

Part travelogue, part classic adventure, Big Snake grapples with the mythic and symbolic status of one of the world's most fascinating yet dreaded creatures, which are generally the victims of bad press. Trekking through South-East Asia with a band of headhunters, Twigger stalks pythons in the sewers of Kuala Lumpur, is forced to survive on greasy civet cat (a relative of the skunk) deep in the jungle, attempts to date the most beautiful woman in the world, encounters the cobweb hunters of Buru, and evaluates the legacy of Alfred Russel Wallace ("the true discoverer of evolution"). Ultimately, after close encounters with snakes both petite though venomous and harmless yet gargantuan, Twigger eventually comes face-to-face with the big one-but the final capture is not quite what he had in mind. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

A travel book without direction
Twigger is a great writer at publishing adventure novels in which he starts the quest but never seems to complete it. His books are about growing up and finding himself, but he rarely finds his subject (BIG SNAKE). A self-help book for the over educated who are looking at making their mark by desperately trying to find their niche in life ie: being a writer.

Snakes and more snakes
I liked this book - more of a travelogue than a snake book, but entertaining and inspiring. Went and saw some reticulated pythons afterwards, and thought about the world's longest snake... If you liked this book, try the Snakebite Survivor's Club also - hilarious and scary.

Big Ego: The Hunt for the World's Longest Whine
Well, as treatises on growing into manhood go, it's about average.What gets me is the title: why call it a hunt for a python?All the author hunted was other people to find a snake, and his own elusive maturity.I also cannot imagine going into such an endeavour so unprepared.It would have been more interesting, at least from a herp point of view, if a reticulated python hunted Twigger.

Buy this book only if you have a man in your family that refuses to grow up, and you want to show him into what he could deteriorate.

Big snake?NOT !!!!Try Big Bogus Bomb.
This Is not a story about the hunt for the longest python but the hunt for someone else to find the longest python. The Author spends very little time looking for the snake . When one is found at the end of the book he is off getting married. It never even tells us if some zoo bought the big snake the other guys found. I wanted to hear about catching the snake NOTabout a rave on the roof of a bank. if you want to read it wait for the paperbackor for the library copy. As a highschool Biology teacher who loves to go herping this was a total bust for me. feel free to e-mail me if you have Questions.Sheldon

reptiles4us@earthlink.net

The Best of the Best
Travel books just don't get any better than this. I've bought it for allmy friends!

Robert ... Read more

Product Description
Introduces the physical characteristics and behavior of the longest snake in the world. ... Read more

Product Description
Introduces the physical characteristics and behavior of the large pythons found in the southern part of the African continent. ... Read more

Product Description
Introduces the physical characteristics and behavior of the large pythons found in India, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka. ... Read more

Product Description
Introduces the physical characteristics and behavior of these beautiful snakes from the scrublands, grasslands, and tropical forests of northern Australia and New Guinea. ... Read more

Product Description
Introduces the nonpoisonous python--one of the world's largest snakes, which may grow to a length of thirty-three feet. ... Read more

Product Description
Describes the physical characteristics, habitat, food habits, and defense mechanisms of this reptile which lives in jungles, rainforests, swampy areas, and even deserts. ... Read more

Product Description
Describes the physical characteristics and predatory habits of boas and pythons and while presenting these snakes as posssible pets examines efforts to prevent their exploitation. ... Read more

Product Description
Examines the unique anatomical features of an Indian python that enable it and other snakes to survive without legs. ... Read more