Prepared by 32 Present and Past Officers, Editors, and Committee Chairs

“. . . the origin, history, and development of a Society that dramatically changed our lives.”—David M. Hillis (from the Foreword)

“. . . the first place to look for information about any aspect of SSAR.”—Martha L. Crump (from the Preface)

This book is a comprehensive and pictorial archive of SSAR. If you have been a member or attended a meeting, your picture is probably in this book. The volume includes a new history of the Society and its remarkable rise from a small club in Ohio to become the largest and most vibrant professional herpetological society in the world. The 25 chapters cover the Society’s foundational period and details of its further development, its relationships to other herpetological organizations including the World Congress, multiple programs for students including new and successful activities for pre-college students, our diversity outreach, endowments, our seven different publications programs, educational activities, and our impact on the conservation of amphibians and reptiles. There are portraits of every officer and editor over the 68-year period, descriptions of all 22 society committees and their activities, and reproductions of the Society’s Constitution and other important governing documents. The book includes hundreds of photographs, mostly in color, including all available group photographs—43 of them—starting with the very first annual meeting in 1958, as well as tables, graphs, maps, and appendices that record massive amounts of information for reference purposes. There is also a full index to all personal names.

__________________________________

SPECIFICATIONS: 308 pages, 8.5 x 11.0 inches (21.5 x 28.0 cm), ISBN 978–1–946681–03–4 (soft cover) and XX–05–8 (hard cover). Published June 2024.