The Snake Charmer

On September 11th, 2001 while exploring a Burmese jungle, Dr. Joe Slowinski was bitten by a krait, one of the most poisonous snakes in the world. His colleagues kept him alive for 26 hours with mouth-to-mouth respiration, waiting for medical help that would never come because of the global disruption caused by the attacks in America.

This is narrative nonfiction in the great tradition of Into the Wild and The Perfect Storm, detailing Slowinski's entire life as an expert on poisonous snakes, structured around the dramatic story of his last expedition in the jungles of Burma. It will include first-person sources including Slowinski's colleagues and members of his family as well as material on snakes, the jungle, science and exploration, and Slowinski's own personality and passions. The first part of the book is organized by species of snake, and how each snake affected Slowinski's life. The book's second part covers Slowinski's final expedition into the deep jungle, the expedition that cost him his life.