They were all born a generation late. Growing up reading Frank Buck's Bring 'em Back Alive and Ray Ditmars's Thrills of a Naturalist's Quest was inspiring to teenagers of the 1950s, but the world had changed by the time they became young adults. There were few remaining unexplored corners of the world, and adventures became more focused on scientific quests – academic team efforts supported by grants with specific missions. The world of individual freelance adventure had become tamed by quick and efficient international travel and TV documentaries, and collecting animals was now cumbersome, what with the need for permits and a fast growing list of totally protected species. What's an adventurous herpetologist wannabe going to do? Seek adventure of course; there were still places to go, and rare reptiles to acquire, while the growing number of international laws to bypass made the task even more exciting. In the process...

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