Nick Wertheim first meets Julia when he's aged ten and she's 19. Already half in love with her, he saves her from a snake. Julia is a wild card, an alcoholic, erratic and beautiful. Their story spans 20 years as they fall in and out of love.

Ever since the last of their parents died at the Frontier Motel, Malik, Beckley, Hector, Martin, and Emma have been on the move. Gene Matterhorn's Wilderness Survival Guidebook helps them defend themselves across the northern plains. It helps them identify the snake that bit Hector. But it doesn't help them avoid an ambush, where Emma is kidnapped by a weathered, gnarled man and his gang of kids, bearing the same snakebite scars as Hector. Now the group is on the offensive, using the guidebook for new information: how to make weapons and track footprints. If they can trust one another—and avoid killing themselves—they just might be able to hunt down their attackers and get Emma back before it's too late.

Early Tantric Medicine explores the mantra-based systems for healing snakebite found in the ancient Hindu texts called the Garuda Tantras. It engages with broader questions of medical efficacy, and describes a worldview in which powerful gods and goddesses are available to anyone who learns the secret methods of propitiating them.

In December 2007, Stephen Grey, a Sunday Times reporter, was under fire in Afghanistan as British and US forces struggled to liberate the Taliban stronghold of Musa Qala. Taking shelter behind an American armoured Humvee, Grey turned his head to witness scenes of carnage. A car and a truck were riddled with gunfire. Their occupants, including several children, had died. Taliban positions were pounded by bullets and bombs dropped on their compounds. A day later, as the operation continued, a mine exploded just yards from Grey, killing a British soldier. Who, he wondered in the days that followed, was responsible for the bloodshed? And what purpose did it serve? A compelling story of one military venture that lasted several days, Operation Snakebite draws on Grey's exclusive interviews with everyone from private soldiers to NATO commanders. The result is a thrilling and at times horrifying story of a war which has gone largely unnoticed back home.

The definitive reference guide to all of Africa's venomous snakes, written by two internationally acclaimed herpetologists. Africa is a true hotspot for snake diversity, with several hundred species. Unfortunately, a scared snake or one that is trodden on may bite, and some species have venom that can prove fatal. The Dangerous Snakes of Africa is an indispensable guide to these reptiles. It covers all 137 dangerous snake species in Africa, along with another 70 species that are easily confused with them. All are described, with each account looking in detail at their identification, habitat and distribution, behaviour and venom, as well as how to treat bites and a selection of photographs, accompanied by an accurate range map. Introductory sections cover the major snake groups, their venom characteristics, how to avoid snake bites and first-aid advice. This comprehensive book is an essential tool for all naturalists, conservationists, educators, field workers and medical personnel throughout Africa.

This book is the first significant contribution to thoroughly examine the potential hazards associated with snakes of the former family, Colubridae. This family contained >65% of living snake species (approximately 3,000 taxa) and has recently been split into multiple families. Many of these snakes produce oral secretions that contain toxins and other biologically-active substances. A large variety of these snakes figure in the pet industry, yet little documented information or formal study of their potential medical importance has been published. Therefore, although the possible medical importance of many of these species has been subjected to speculation since the mid-nineteenth century, there is a limited amount of useful descriptive information regarding the real hazard (or lack thereof) of snakes belonging to this diverse, artificial family. There is a need for "one-stop shopping" offering information regarding their possible toxicity and clinical relevance as well as recommendations for medical management of their bites. This book is the first synthesis of this information and includes evidence-based risk assessment, hazard rankings and specific recommendations regarding important species, many common in captivity. - Fills a gap in the toxinological, medical and herpetological literature by providing a comprehensive review of this entire assemblage of snakes, with particular attention given to their capacity, real or rumored, to cause harm to humans - A patient-centered, evidence-based approach is applied to analyzing documented case reports of bites inflicted by approximately 100 species - Clinical management of medically significant bites from non-front-fanged colubroids is methodically reviewed, and specific recommendations are provided

Nephrology is one of the fastest growing specialties in medicine. Nevertheless, kidney disease is one of the most serious unmet health needs in many countries. To provide healthcare access with the desirable equity worldwide, the nephrology community needs to discuss this public health issue and take part in decisions for elaboration of public health policies with more justice and equity. This book brings together key current public health problems that affect kidney function and illuminates them in contributions by an international group of nephrologists and general practitioners. The chapters review current knowledge and provide guidelines to manage these conditions and decrease the disease burden. At the end, developments in the digital era and their application to kidney disease treatment are synthesized, and a broader outlook on the future of nephrology is given. Ultimately, the publication aims to gather nephrology and public health expertise from researchers from all over the world, providing a broad vision of issues that must be discussed and overcome to guarantee a better treatment for patients with kidney diseases in the world today.