A legend in the arena of wildlife conservation and affectionately hailed as the ‘Snakeman of India’, Romulus Whitaker has had a lifelong love affair with the ‘fierce creatures’ that share our planet. This first volume of his fascinating memoir brings the India of the 1950s and the US of the 1960s to life.

When his mother married and moved to Mumbai, Whitaker was transplanted from a conventional childhood in the US to what was for him the exciting world of India. At boarding school in Kodai, he kept a pet python under his bed and realized that all he really wanted to do was work with snakes. Sent to the US for college, Whitaker preferred snakes to lecture halls and left to work on a snake farm. The adventures that ensue are hair-raising and often hilarious.

Snakes, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll tells the story of a boy who would become one of the greatest conservationists of his generation, discovering the wonders of India’s extraordinary natural world.

ISBN: 9789356997110
ISBN 10: 935699711X
Imprint: HarperCollins India
Pages: 400 pages

List Price: $24.99/₹699

In India buy it on Amazon India, Champaca or wherever you buy books

In the US, buy it on Amazon US, Abe Books or wherever you buy books

“Written in an easy-going, conversational tone, with a fast-paced medley of personal experiences, Snakes, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll is a vivid tell-all memoir that offers an intimate, irreverent self-portrait of one of India’s most eminent naturalists and conservationists.” —The Indian Express

“Whitaker constantly flirts with death and danger—rampaging elephants, irritable cobras, stray gunshots from irresponsible humans. Sometimes the bildungsroman reads more like a survival saga or a cautionary tale. He agrees that he often feels “pretty lucky” to be alive.” — India Today

“The book is pacey, magnetic, wicked, and especially for the reader who was brought up in the 1950s and 1960s, this is a nostalgic trip back in time. What Whitaker experienced in the first 25 years of his life is probably far more than what most people would experience in their entire lifetime.” —Open Magazine

“Romulus Whitaker’s autobiography is a delightful read, cheeky and candid at all times.” —The Hindu

“This volume is a precious account that opens a window into the formative years of a non-conformist naturalist and offers inspiration to current and future generations who would be hard-pressed to leave the comforts of virtual reality for the most part.” —Mongabay

“Snakes, alligators, necrosis and such like usually don’t make for delightful reading. But trust the ‘Snakeman of India’, Romulus Whitaker, to combine these elements to write a feel-good, racy, coming-of-age story.” —The Telegraph

“Snakes, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll is brilliantly told, and written almost tenderly, with adjectives not usually used for reptiles.” —The Week

“Fast-paced, the book revels in images; anecdotes pour forth like a river during monsoons.” —The Tribune

“Breaking the rules and getting up to crazy stuff is a major part of the book. Mr Whitaker comes across as a sort of free child—part Mowgli, part Tom Sawyer-Huckleberry Finn. As he grows older, he is part of the hippie, free-world zeitgeist. In many ways, it’s hard to believe that one person could have so many fascinating and extreme experiences.” —Business Standard

“Romulus Whitaker’s autobiography is a delightfully told tale of his exciting wildlife adventures, reluctant drafting into the Vietnam War, and enduring love for India.” —Frontline

“Romulus Whitaker’s biography is a thrilling narrative of his adventures, making one marvel at the audacity of it all.” —Mint Lounge

“Romulus Whitaker’s new memoir certainly takes us on a wild ride from the bucolic woodlands of upstate New York to the tidal pools of Juhu Beach, traversing the Palani Hills of Kodaikanal and the alligator-infested swamps of Florida, interspersed with treacherous voyages on rusty freighters crashing through forty-foot waves in the North Atlantic and motorcycle journeys heading both west and east, not to mention the mystical solitude of Arizona’s high deserts, where rattlesnakes sun themselves on the rocks.” —The Indian Express