Karl Patterson Schmidt was one of America's most influential naturalists. In his special field of herpetology—the study of reptiles and amphibians—he made many fascinating discoveries about the habits of snakes and their environment.

This biography follows his exciting career from his boyhood in Lake Forrest, Illinois, through his college days at Cornell, his participation in geological expeditions, his first job as a herpetologist at the American Museum of Natural History, and his later expeditions which took him all over the world.

Karl Patterson Schmidt saw and accomplished much, but his happiest achievement was to pass on to another generation both his great knowledge and his lasting curiosity about the natural world.

This first biography of Karl Patterson Schmidt is filled with the mystery and adventure of a herpetologist's world. Following the story of Schmidt's career is a series of projects you can do, to follow in his footsteps.

NATURE PROJECTS YOU CAN DO

Some of the projects included in this book are: FINDING REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS, CARING FOR CAPTIVE SPECIMENS, KINDS OF HERPETOLOGICAL PETS and YOUR SCRAP BOOK. All the equipment you need is inexpensive or easily made. With patience and persistence you can find reptiles and amphibians wherever you happen to live.

From the dust jacket