This volume provides a comprehensive overview of the Old World colubrid snakes commonly known as ratsnakes, and contains a wealth of new information on the natural history and generic classification of this fascinating group. The book should not be considered as a second edition to the monograph by SCHULZ (1996) but rather as a detailed account of all Old World species that are present or were former members of the genus Elaphe FITZINGER. The book is divided into 16 papers and represents the collective work of 18 contributing authors. This book also contains extensive photographic documentation of each species in their natural environments with contributions made by photographers from all over the world. The inclusion of over 900 colour photographs of all known species and subspecies, as well as colour morphs, makes this book an invaluable reference source to both amateur and professional herpetologists alike.