Bryan Christy

Okay, The Lizard King officially hits bookstores on Friday.  Reviews are starting to pop up, I’ve got some radio interviews coming that I have to put up on the appearances board. 

Here’s a nice review from the Tucson Citizen.  Larry Cox gives the book an A, and includes this:

In no-nonsense, crisply written prose, Christy serves up a timely, relevant book. His research is impeccable and his narrative impassioned and focused. This is exceptional crime reporting by a courageous man who went to unbelievable means to get his story…

A nice shout out today for THE LIZARD KING in the Cape Cod Times. 

Subtitled “The True Crimes and Passions of the World’s Greatest Reptile Smugglers,” this book could have been ripped from the headlines, as they say, what with recent stories of pythons in washing machines and alligators running amok on Cape Cod. Bryan Christy has written for Playboy and National Geographic, but for this book he had to endure being bitten by a blood python, not a bunny. All kidding aside, this is serious business, both in terms of the money at stake in trafficking reptiles and in terms of the danger to the animals and people. This is the true story of the Van Nostrands, a family that worked both sides of the law, with some members legally importing reptiles for pet stores and zoos while others illegally trafficked in reptiles for private owners. It took the determination of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife special agent to stop the smuggling, but at what cost?

— MELANIE LAUWERS

News is Lonesome George the Pinta Island Galapagos tortoise has finally settled down.  We’ll look forward to seeing what comes of the eggs.  With Galops there’s a neat rule, it’s “cool dudes and hot chicks,” which is to say that lower ambient temperatures tend to yield male hatchlings, while higher temps yield females…

This, incidentally, is an example of how global warming can impact the planet more quickly than you might expect.  For those species whose gender is determined by temperature, a small change can alter the sex ratio in a population, skewing a species toward rapid disaster.  Reptiles and amphibians are the Powerbars of the animal kingdom; they’re bite-sized, high-energy food for more active species.  Without them the race gets harder…