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12 Books of Christmas

Books for bear and snake aficionados
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Snakebit: Confessions of a Herpetologist

By Leslie Anthony

Greystone Books, 290 pp., $29.95

 

Reviewed by Andrew Mitchell

Before Leslie Anthony embarked on his second career as a ski bum (albeit a highly literate one who has edited the top skiing magazines, while freelancing as a travel and adventure writer) - he was a snake guy. That is to say he was a herpetologist, a rare breed of zoologist who specializes in snakes, lizards, frogs, salamanders and turtles; species that turned out to be on wholly different branches of the evolutionary tree but that can often be found together in the same swamps, deserts, jungles and grasslands.

Snakebit: Confessions of a Herpetologist is an account of Anthony's evolution as a scientist, from his childhood forays into ponds and swamps in search of specimens to bring home to his later expeditions around the world in search of rare and poisonous breeds that are often poorly researched and even less understood.

It's a gripping read, part biography, part adventure story, part homage to a subject that clearly fascinates him. It's packed with interesting facts, but Anthony's easy style and deft touch weaving the details into the larger narrative ensures that Snakebit never reads like a textbook.

In that sense Anthony has achieved something that only a handful of authors can claim, producing a non-fiction, science-themed book that can entertains as much as it informs. Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything and Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel fall in this all-too narrow genre of books. Anthony's style is in a lot of ways warmer and more humorous than Bryson's or Diamond's, while his chief subject - snakes, with some salamanders and turtles thrown in for good measure - keep the narrative focused and tight.

Anthony isn't trying to explain life, the universe and everything (apologies to Douglas Adams) but in a way he has a much harder job justifying his admiration for these sometimes dangerous and unpredictable prehistoric creatures that happen to scare or revolt so many of us. In doing so he opens a window onto a world where the people are as unique and esoteric as the subjects they study, the opposite of what you might expect from scientists wearing labcoats. That's because a herpetologist is a part-time adventurer, someone who ventures into the wilderness in search of lightning-quick and often venomous specimens that they have to try to capture. Anthony makes herpetology cool, kind of like Indiana Jones made archaeology cool.

Snakebit is also a travel story in some ways, following Anthony's travels to places like Fiji, Finland and the Armenian countryside.

Finding out if this book is for you is easy; open it to the first chapter and read. If you can put it down after a few pages then maybe you'd be better off with something a little safer. A book about fluffy bunnies perhaps.

 

Bear-ology: Fascinating Bear Facts, Tales & Trivia

By Sylvia Dolson

PixyJack Press, 192 pp., $22.95

 

Reviewed by Holly Fraughton

Bears are a part of the fabric of Whistler life and lore - to longtime locals, they're almost like stray dogs or squirrels. Admit it: we all love to tell tales of the majestic creatures we share this valley with (especially with anxious tourists).

But their comfort level with humans can have tragic results, and just because we're used to having these animals around doesn't mean we shouldn't have a healthy respect for the creatures. In fact, one local bear advocate believes we need to work at living in harmony with the black bears. So, she decided to publish a book on the topic.

Sylvia Dolson is best known around town for her work with Get Bear Smart, a community group dedicated to protecting the many black bears that call Whistler home by educating people. And to make the learning process fun and appealing, she decided to write this light-hearted book, Bear-ology: Fascinating Bear Facts, Tales & Trivia, which is filled with tidbits of information, jokes and illustrations by Evelyn Krikaldy, a talented artist from the Kootenays.

Dolson spent more than two years researching and writing the book as she continued working full-time as executive director for the Get Bear Smart Society.

"It's a long process, to put a book together," Dolson said with a chuckle. "Much longer than I expected."

Rather than focusing on drier scientific issues like the biology and ecology of bears - textbook reading, really - Dolson opted to take a fun approach, nestling a few important bear basics, like what to do when you see a bear, in between anecdotes and cartoons that are designed to help readers gain an "an appreciation of the true nature and essence of the bear, one that transcends the unfounded fears based on years of misinformation, sensationalized media stories... and exaggerated campfire tales."

Bear-ology: Fascinating Bear Facts, Tales & Trivia was published in late February, and can be found on shelves of Armchair Books, Home Hardware, IGA and Carlberg's. The book is also a fundraising project for the Get Bear Smart Society, so you have the added feel-good fuzzies if you pick this book up as a gift for the animal lover on your shopping list.