Herpetologist (snake scientist) Joe Slowinski’s biography brings you on the search for dangerous reptiles, from his childhood in the Midwest to a tragic end in the uncharted jungles of Southeast Asia. The book, The Snake Charmer, written by biographer Jamie James, blends the interest for snakes with the life of a dedicated and sometimes reckless, but brilliant Joe.
No snake kills with more ruthless efficiency that the many-banded krait…
This is the first sentence to a wonderful book that will indulge your passion for wildlife, adventure travel, and connect you to a man who gave up his life in pursuit of knowledge. Every chapter of the book begins with a few lines to peak your interest about a particular snake and where each species crossed paths with Slowinski’s life – ending with the krait, the one to which Slowinski lost his life, at age 38, in the uncharted jungles of north Burma.
James is adept at impressing upon us, snake by snake, Slowinski’s seemingly bizarre fascination with them. Subtly as the book goes on it connects you with Slowinski. You begin to develop a camaraderie with a man who is at times careless with an uneasy enthusiasm for animals most people do their best to avoid. Slowinski drinks beer before going out in the middle of the night to handle highly poisonous creatures – that’s my kind of guy. He’s so pure you can’t help but gladly take his final adventure with him to Burma.
The Snake Charmer is a great travel book, all else aside. The trek (here’s a map) through the mostly uncharted dense jungles of nothern Burma, with leaches chasing Slowinski’s team from the trees, is seductive to the traveler at heart. All the time knowing this is Slowinski’s last adventure, you feel the compelling desire to pack your bags and take off, saddened by the fact that there’s one less guy in the world just like that.