Like so many others, I have been mesmerized by West Texas since I first hunted snakes there more than a decade ago. Like countless herpers from around the world, I have cruised up and down the River Road, looking for snakes, lizards, tarantulas, and scorpions. I have been happily startled by a javelina or owl, sitting in the middle of a lonely road in the pitch black darkness. Craig Trumbower's More Than Snake Hunting has transported me to this desolate and magical place from my past. He presents searches for the elusive silver and orange Kingsnakes of West Texas, the magnificent red Pygmy Rattlesnake in Carolina, and the most remarkable snake in North America, the giant blue-black Indigo Snake in Florida. Be assured that Craig's heartfelt stories are not just for snake hunters. These stories are for anyone with a love of nature, wild spaces, and adventure. More Than Snake Hunting is about friendship and a shared love of nature. More Than Snake Hunting made me smile, made me laugh out loud, and even made me shed a few tears - tears for my lost childhood adventures, for Craig's dramatic childhood, and I think a longing for things I have experienced and I miss more than I had remembered - the secretive creatures, the incredible thorny desert plants, the dark storm clouds, and the explosive crimson and purple sunsets of West Texas. Russ Gurley