Leslie Anthony; Infinitely snakebitten. Rarely shy.
Who knows what geekiness lurks in the heart of men? As one of the few legendary ski journalists of the past 20 years, author Leslie Anthony is better known for his opinionated and informed views of the microcosmic world of alpine skiing. In Snakebit, his first published book, Anthony reveals the truth few ski magazine readers know about—he is a biologist geek of the highest order. Opening with a vignette that melds the two loves together—a serpent hunt on a Finnish ski hill—Anthony soon leaves all mention of skiing behind and takes the reader into the strange world of Herpetology, the study of snakes, reptiles and other strange creepy crawlies this reviewer had never heard of previously. Anthony is adept at translating the inclusive language and culture of the “herping” world for the regular reader. Using humour as a lubricant and his own entertaining tales of adventure as a conduit, he endows a lifetime’s worth of snake, frog and lizard knowledge on the reader, giving non-scientists like me more than enough trivia to share at the next cocktail party. From the venomous jungles of Vietnam to arid Armenia to his backyard of British Columbia, Anthony’s intriguing and sometimes dangerous adventures transport the reader across the globe. But it’s more than laughs and (literal) snakebites that keep the book slithering along—an empathetic sentiment for the creatures he chases comes through clear enough to move you but subtle enough that it doesn’t seem like a sermon delivery. This book is one man’s intimate journal of a life spent entwined and at the same time an environmental caution, an undercover travel memoir and, above all, a geek manifesto that will open your eyes to the world of those who live to herp. Finally, the geeks have a found a way to communicate clearly with the outside world. – Mike Berard
