Landscape With Reptile: Rattlesnakes in an Urban World

by Thomas Palmer

In this marvelously original and authoritative book, Thomas Palmer introduces us to a community of rattlesnakes nestled in the heart of the urban Northeast, one of several such enclaves found near cities across the country. From this unusual springboard, Palmer plunges into an examination not only of Crotalus horridus , but of ecology, evolution, folklore, New England history, and American culture.
Just south of Boston, within view of the State House, a range of low, rugged hills interrupts the suburbs. In these Blue Hills lives one of the last populations of timber rattlesnakes-easy enough to find if you know where, and how, to look. LANDSCAPE WITH REPTILE celebrates their survival with a kaleidoscopic journey through nature, literature, and history, a journey guided and informed by the snake's own serpentine passage through time. It includes a spirited defense of an outlaw species, a glance at the hazards of snakebite, an account of a multimillion-dollar development project halted by Crotalus , a travelogue, a collection of tall tales, and a meditation on the spectacle of life on earth. Like the best nature writers, Palmer lives and breathes with his landscape; but unlike most nature writers, Palmer finds his landscape is his own backyard.
Rarely has a book of natural history moved out in such original and unexpected ways from a focus so original and unexpected. A master craftsman, Thomas Palmer serves up a story with the authentic flavor of the woodlands it comes from, telling us everything we ever wanted to know about rattlesnakes-and much more we'd never dream to ask.

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction, Animals

340 pages, Paperback

First published March 20, 1992

About the author

THOMAS PALMER is an amateur naturalist, photographer, conservation advocate, and the author of The Transfer (1983) and Dream Science (1990). He is a graduate of Wesleyan University and lives in Milton, Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Vinnysaur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thomas Palmer does an excellent job of connecting really insightful historical records, personal stories, and herpetological observations in this book. All of which are wrapped up in a tight bow of admirable dry humor. It gives me hope for a better future living alongside our cold blooded neighbors. I enjoyed every page of this book!

[Ken-ichi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Old review from 2005

The prose is also a little flowery at times, and he occasionally gets a little too caught up in his tangents into local history (a topic he clearly adores), but for the most part that history is quite interesting and usually relevant to his subject. Overall it’s a great history of rattlesnakes in colonial America. If/when I return to New England, I need to go looking for these guys…

[b bb bbbb bbbbbbbb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked: i really like the combination of social and natural history, along with anatomy and story telling.. Disliked: the authors philosophy is sometimes in contradiction with what the author claims to think. weird?

[Bob Peru · Rating 5 out of 5]

freakin' excellent. filled with "lore". i love "lore". and rattlesnakes. i love rattlesnakes.