Slither - by Stephen S Hall (Hardcover)

About the Book

"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"--

Book Synopsis

In this "wise and wondrous" (David Quammen) exploration, a science writer reintroduces readers to The Snake, encouraging our initial reaction to the slithery creature to be one of awe rather than disgust.

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 children 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, 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.

Review Quotes

"Slither is a triumph of science writing, as well as a boon for anyone who wants to learn more about the not-so-scary critters who crawl among us...[Hall] combines high-caliber science writing with detours into the history of serpents in various cultures, peppering each chapter with just plain fun facts."--Washington Independent Review of Books

"Hall's a masterful writer...in a tour de force of research and reporting, Hall delivers a bracing treatise on serpents that itself slithers deftly through history, religion, literature, mythology, and plenty of science, of course, making a compelling case for reassessing our view of snakes."--Talking Animals

"Eye-opening"--Psychology Today

"Every chapter is a similar mix of surprising facts and pithy insight. Slither reads fast and fun--A book about snakes has to be a great read if it is going to overcome our profound dislike of these creatures. This one does."

--Wall Street Journal

"In this excellent study, science journalist Hall surveys the distinctive biology and behavior of snakes... The result is a revelatory take on the much feared reptiles."--Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Drawing from a rich vein of history, anthropology and cutting-edge biology, science writer Stephen S. Hall uncoils the complexity of snakes and humans' love-hate relationship with them...Personal histories of snake researchers and enthusiasts, along with Hall's own field reporting, bring the science to life."

--Science News

"What Stephen S. Hall does brilliantly is to explore the world of a reptile that has been both venerated and feared ever since it was first encountered by humans" --Airmail, Editor's Pick

"Impressively wide-ranging survey of and tribute to the sinuous creatures... Hall's plunge into snake-centric science blends detailed data and engaging anecdotes with writerly aplomb."--BookPage, starred review

"Readers are likely to come away from this book with a healthy respect for our scaly neighbors, as well as for those who study them. An eye-opening look at the world of snakes by an eloquent admirer of the creatures."--Kirkus Reviews

"Steve Hall writes with erudition but he also knows how to show his readers a good time. No matter how you feel about snakes, you are going to love this fun and fascinating book."--Dan Fagin, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Toms River

"In Slither, Stephen Hall delivers both a compendium of new ways to consider one of our most feared and loathed creatures as well as an insightful meditation on our long social history with them. Each beautifully researched chapter unfolds as a new investigation of their sheer otherness. What emerges is a surprising look at the ways that the lives of human and snake lives have long been intertwined. In the end, this surprising book, shows us just how much we might learn from snakes if we dropped some of our (primate) habits of ophidiophobia, stopped loathing and killing them, and as this book helps us do, looked with fresh eyes at this extraordinary creature."
--Leila Philip, New York Times bestselling author of Beaverland

"SLITHER is Ssssssimply Ssssssssssssssssplendid! If you are not already a fan of stunning, sinuous, super-powered serpents, this glorious book will help you come to your senses! Stephen Hall's deep and tender love for snakes radiates from every incandescent page. Prepare to be enchanted."--Sy Montgomery, New York Times bestselling author of The Soul of an Octopus

"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

About the Author

Stephen S. Hall has been reporting and writing about the intersection of science and society for more than 40 years. In addition to numerous cover stories in the New York Times Magazine, where he also served as a Story Editor and Contributing Writer, his work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, National Geographic, New York Magazine, Wired, Science, Nature, Scientific American, Discover, The Sciences, Hip-pocrates, Smithsonian, and more. He is also the author of six critically acclaimed non-fiction books about contemporary science. Among other honors, he has received the Walter Sullivan Award for Excellence in Science Journalism from the American Geophysical Union (2011); the Best Magazine Story of the Year from the American Association for the Advancement of Science-Kavli Foundation in 2017; and an honorary doctorate from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in 2023. He also received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2012.

Since 2007 Hall has served as an adjunct professor of journalism at New York University, where he taught a core-curriculum graduate-school seminar in science writing at NYU's Science, Health, and Environmental Reporting Program (SHERP) for ten years. He previously taught graduate seminars in science writing and explanatory journalism at Columbia University. Since 2009, he has also conducted hundreds of Science Communication Workshop sessions for scientists and doctors at NYU, Rockefeller University, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.