Steve's Herpetological Blog

An insight into the life of Steve, his research and the many books he reads

Book Review

#StevesLibrary: The Body

Bill Bryson is one of those authors that I respect for taking on the challenge of writing books on the most impossible topics. The Body: A Guide for Occupants is no exception. How on Earth do you go about summarising…

#StevesLibrary: Winged Obsession

There aren’t many books out there on the illegal wildlife trade, which is a shame as it is an interesting and often overlooked area of conservation. Some of you may remember back to last summer when I read Stolen Worlds,…

#StevesLibrary: Silent Spring

I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to read Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, especially being a conservationist. Thankfully, I finally have and I’m glad I did. Despite the fact that Silent Spring was published 60 years ago,…

#StevesLibrary: The Soul of an Octopus

It isn’t often that you read a book that makes you revaluate the relationship between humans and animals, as much as The Soul of an Octopus did. I’m not going to lie, for a while I had a fear of…

#StevesLibrary: Sex, Botany and Empire

After reading The Naming of the Shrew recently, I was eager to find our more about Carl Linnaeus in an easily digestible format. That is where Sex, Botany & Empire comes in. The author, Patricia Fara is a historian of…

#StevesLibrary: The Book of Humans

A book that has been waiting patiently on my bookcase for me to read for a while, is The Book of Humans by Adam Rutherford. If you’re familiar with Rutherford, then you’ll know that he’s an intelligent and witty communicator….

#StevesLibrary: The Naming of the Shrew

There are many things that you learn during the course of a zoology degree, and the subsequent years regarding the scientific naming of animals and plants. These include such facts as the binomial system of taxonomy that we use today…

#StevesLibrary: The Drunken Forest

I had to end 2021 on a positive note, and so I chose to read The Drunken Forest by Gerald Durrell, for the simple fact that Durrell’s writing is always something that helps fill you with optimism and hope. Durrell…

#StevesLibrary: Eat Me

First off, as this is my first blog post since before the festive season, I hope you had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I thought I’d kick 2022 off with something a little different, that I…

#StevesLibrary: Our Place

The book ‘ve just finished reading is one that took a little longer to get through than I had hoped, but it is quite densely packed with a whole host of interesting and relevant information. Our Place by Mark Cocker…