The Book Offers a Compelling and Entertaining Photographic History of Snakebite Treatments
RODEO, N.M., February 20, 2024 (Newswire.com)
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ECO Wear & Publishing, a niche publisher specializing in reptile books and nature wear, announces the release of a photographic history of snakebite treatments across the ages called “A Photographic History of Snakebite Treatments: Bad Medicine: Snake Oil, Potions, Elixirs, and Kits.” A collection of reptile experts provided their expertise on the topic; it’s authored by Bob Ashley, Charles F. Smith, and Gordon W. Schuett, contains an introduction by Kimberly M. Wyatt and William K. Hayes, and includes a foreword by Sir David Warrell. While herpetologists, clinicians, and historians are a key audience for the title, the book’s rich photographs and fascinating historical details give it broad appeal to the general public.
“Snakes are symbolic across cultures, countries, and centuries, and snakebites are a universal human fear,” says co-author Bob Ashley. “We wanted to chronicle history through this thread of commonality, using beautiful photographs and factual descriptions to highlight the inventive and often hilarious ways humans have responded to snakebites.”
Snakebite treatments date back to the earliest written records, including Hebrew Scriptures from the 14th-12th centuries BCE and records from ancient Egyptians in the Brooklyn Papyrus. The book covers shamanic and religious treatments, cures sought from the natural world — including fermented potions and animal part emetics, and attempts to remedy venom through bodily assaults like bloodletting, The history also includes modern-era approaches with clinical and medical bases.
The project combines the passions of its three authors. Bob Ashley is ECO Wear & Publishing’s founder and has published more than 40 titles on reptiles and amphibians. He is also the founder of the Chiricahua Desert Museum in New Mexico, a co-founder of the North American Reptile Breeders Conference and Trade Show, a former President of the International Herpetological Symposium, and the current Vice President. Charles F. Smith and Gordon W. Schuett both hold PhDs and have collectively published hundreds of papers on life sciences, biology, and reptiles topics, as well as several previous co-authored books.
“A Photographic History of Snakebite Treatments: Bad Medicine: Snake Oil, Potions, Elixirs, and Kits” was designed to be both informative and entertaining and could have equal demand as a reference guide or a conversation-starter coffee-table book. A special collector’s edition is available in hardcover with an embossed sleeve. The book is currently available through the ECO Publishing site and on Amazon.
About ECO Publishing — ECO Wear & Publishing, Inc. is a world-famous publisher of reptile books and also offers t-shirts with fantastic realistic screen prints that bring your favorite wildlife to life. For more information, visit ECOuniverse.com.
Source: ECO Wear & Publishing
