Hi all,

my name is Hans Breuer, I'm an amateur herper and nature photographer currently based in Kuching, Sarawak, Borneo, where I relocated after twenty-two years of life in Taiwan.

After many years of working with reptiles and amphibians in Taiwan, in spring 2010 the opportunity arose to write a 6000-word cover story about the island’s herpetofauna for the inaugural print issue of “Herp Nation”. Reader resonance was very positive, and many stated their interest in an entire book about my adventures searching for and photographing snakes in the wilds of this beautiful and ecologically rich island. I complied, and now the book is finally out. Here are more details for your kind perusal:

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"A Cobra Hijacked My Camera Bag! - Snakes And Stories From Taiwan"

is now available online. US readers, please order here. For non-US readers, the book is now also available through BookDepository where anyone in a wide range of
countries can order the book for just a little more than the US price and get free shipping -see here.

Further purchase options:
Barnes & Noble
Amazon UK
TheNile.com.au

Here's the table of contents:

Prologue – Why did it have to be snakes...and why in Taiwan?
Herping in Taiwan – An Overview
Cobras – Rice Ladle With Attitude
Ratsnakes - The Fast and the Furious
Vipers – Clint Eastwoods of Snakedom
Krait – Satans Rubber Toy
Rear-Fanged – Daggers in the Back
Miscellaneous - The Weird and the Wonderful
Pangolin – The Beast That Time Forgot


And here's the back cover blurb:

The herp is on! Hans Breuer searches for a new pet ratsnake in Taipei restaurants, loses a coral snake in his living room, confronts a cobra in complete darkness, and assumes unorthodox yogic postures to photograph kraits, habus, and bamboo snakes. Between the tree ferns of Taiwan's lush, rugged mountains, this brilliant amateur naturalist draws us along to experience a fantastic variety of snakes, along with turtles, civets, pangolins, and other representatives of the island's immense biodiversity.

During his constant search for reptiles and amphibians, Hans introduces the best of Taiwan with quirky humor, while educating the reader in remarkable detail. The author’s twenty-two years in Taiwan, and fluency in Mandarin Chinese, have given him a broad experience with all facets of Taiwan life, complementing his herpetological observations. We learn about food and drinking customs, dealing with curious police officers, and the aboriginal relationship to Taiwan’s rich animal life.

With this book in hand, you don't need a plane ticket to enjoy the thrill of herping Taiwan, but after reading Hans' adventures, you might just book your next vacation there!

For those of you who will actually buy a copy: I hope you'll have as much fun reading it as I had writing it.

For those of you who won't: please tell all those of your herping buddies who might - any publicity is good publicity :-)

And lastly: if you have connections to any venue or body that might be able to promote and maybe even sell the book (online forums, websites, herp shows, pet shops etc...), please let me know!
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Cheers, and thanks for reading!

Hans