Slither

A spellbinding scientific and cultural study of snakes, the fascination and fear they inspire, and how surprising new science is indelibly changing our perception of these stunning and frightening creatures.

For millennia, depictions of snakes as alternatively beautiful and menacing creatures have appeared in religious texts, mythology, poetry, and beyond. From the foundational deities of ancient Egypt to the reactions of squeamish schoolchildren today, it is a historically commonplace belief that snakes are devious, dangerous, and even evil. But where there is hatred and fear, there is also fascination and reverence. How is it that creatures so despised and sinister, so foreign of movement and ostensibly devoid of sociality and emotion, have fired the imaginations of poets, prophets, and painters across time and cultures? 

In SLITHER, science writer Stephen S. Hall presents a naturalistic, cultural, ecological, and scientific meditation on these loathed yet magnetic creatures. In each chapter, he explores a biological aspect of The Snake, such as their cold blooded metabolism and venomous nature, alongside their mythology, artistic depictions, and cultural veneration. In doing so, he explores not only what neurologically triggers our wary fascination with these limbless creatures, but also how the current generation of snake scientists is using cutting-edge technologies to discover new truths about these evolutionarily ancient creatures—truths that may ultimately affect and enhance human health.

• "The story of snakes and people is long and sinuous, rich with beauty and fascination, looping by way of Ophites, D.H. Lawrence, the mathematics of slithering, and Edward O. Wilson. Stephen Hall’s telling of that story is wise and wondrous. Both I and the beloved python with whom I share my office, Boots, applaud it wholeheartedly."
   
  David Quammen, award-winning author of Breathless
• PRAISE FOR INVISIBLE FRONTIERS
  
  "An important and pioneering book."
  New York Times Book Review
• "A splendid piece of science writing."
  Washington Post Book World
• PRAISE FOR WISDOM
  
  “A comprehensive and thought-provoking book that examines the difficult topic of wisdom in a fair—even wise—manner.”
  Science News
• “Stephen Hall is not just a terrific science writer, he’s a terrific writer, period.”
  Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma
• “Utterly engaging. . . . Hall’s work as a translator and intermediary between the humanities and the hard neurosciences is in itself a feat of extraordinary mental balance and understanding.”
  The Post and Courier