Snake Man: The Story of C.J.P. Ionides is a biographical book written by Alan Wykes that tells the story of Charles Ionides, a British adventurer and snake collector who lived from 1879 to 1960. The book chronicles Ionides' life from his early childhood in Greece to his travels around the world in search of rare and exotic snakes. The author describes Ionides as a man who was passionate about snakes and spent most of his life studying and collecting them. He was also an expert on reptiles and had a vast knowledge of their ...
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Snake Man: The Story of C.J.P. Ionides is a biographical book written by Alan Wykes that tells the story of Charles Ionides, a British adventurer and snake collector who lived from 1879 to 1960. The book chronicles Ionides' life from his early childhood in Greece to his travels around the world in search of rare and exotic snakes. The author describes Ionides as a man who was passionate about snakes and spent most of his life studying and collecting them. He was also an expert on reptiles and had a vast knowledge of their behavior and habits. The book covers Ionides' many adventures, including his expeditions to Africa, Asia, and South America, where he encountered some of the deadliest snakes in the world. The author also explores Ionides' personal life, including his marriage to a wealthy American heiress and his relationships with other snake collectors and scientists. Overall, Snake Man: The Story of C.J.P. Ionides is a fascinating account of a man who dedicated his life to the study of snakes and contributed greatly to our understanding of these creatures. The book is well-researched and engaging, and will appeal to anyone interested in snakes, adventure, or the history of science.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.
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Add this copy of Snake Man: the Story of C. J. P. Ionides (Paperback Or to cart. $36.50, new condition, Sold by BargainBookStores rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Grand Rapids, MI, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Literary Licensing, LLC.
Add this copy of Snake Man: The Story Of C. J. P. Ionides to cart. $56.29, new condition, Sold by Booksplease rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Southport, MERSEYSIDE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2012 by Literary Licensing, LLC.
Add this copy of Snake Man: the Story of C. J. P. Ionides to cart. $58.95, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hialeah, FL, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Literary Licensing, LLC.
I had heard odds and ends about C.J.P. Ionides for years. Crazy stories. Who was this man who preferred snakes to people? Long ago, I was particularly taken by an image of him walking through the east African brush wearing a diving mask (it's true, he used to do that and the book has a picture of him and two of his assistants decked out just so) looking for spitting cobras which are able to aim venom with uncanny accuracy at the eyes of their prey. All of you amateur and professional herpetologists will be fascinated by this man. I wound up not liking him as much as I thought I would; he had a lot of old school British arrogance to him and was a little too fond of shooting large animals for no good reason to suit my tastes. But it was a different time and he was very much an original; brave, single minded, a serious student of natural history and enough of an iconoclast to gain my grudging respect. The Bristish school system and later the military couldn't dampen his spirit. He was an acrophobe who would climb 100 feet into a tree with a pair of tongs to catch a green mamba. He wasn't very nice to his assistants but he refused to let them take risks that he thought he should take. Wykes has a comfortable writing style and much the same easy manner with his subject that fans of John McPhee find so enjoyable. I think Wykes was glad to spend a month with Ionides. Spend a couple of evenings with him yourself, and get a glimpse of a man and a time and place that no longer exist.
