Marty Essen was a workaholic who never took a day off work sick and rarely had a
vacation. Then, he turned forty and had
a self described “midlife crisis”. However, unlike many men facing this problem, Marty didn’t buy a fast car. Instead, he finally took a long overdue
vacation with his wife. Cool Creatures, Hot Planet describes the
author’s vacation, actually a series of vacations that took the couple to exotic locations on each of the seven continents. Each trip was hand picked not for relaxation and a little sun but for the best possible wilderness adventure and animal viewings (particularly snakes which the author seems to adore). I completely enjoyed Cool Creatures, Hot Planet. I felt like I was along for the ride on each of his travels. The shear magnitude of the animals and natural habitats that this man got to experience is awe inspiring. The experiences are absolutely priceless.