Object Lessons is a series of short beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of
ordinary things. Feared and worshiped in equal measure snakes have captured the imagination of
poets painters and philosophers for centuries. From Ice Age cave drawings to Snakes on a
Plane this creature continues to enthrall the public. But what harm has been caused by our
mythologizing? While considering the dangers of stigma Erica Wright moves from art and pop
culture to religion fetish and ecologic disaster. This book considers how the snake has
become more symbol than animal a metaphor for how we treat whatever scares us the most
whether or not our panic is justified. Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay
series in the The Atlantic.
