Description
Beastly: The 40,000 Year Story of Animals and Us by Keggie Carew (Hardcover)
“Animals have shaped our minds, our lives, our land, and our civilization. Humanity would not have gotten very far without them–making use of their labor for transportation, agriculture, and pollination; their protection from predators; and their bodies for food and to make clothing, music, and art. And over the last two centuries, humans have made unprecedented advances in science, technology, behavior, and beliefs. Yet how is it that we continue to destroy the animal world and lump its magnificence under the sterile concept of biodiversity? In Beastly, author Keggie Carew seeks to re-enchant readers with the wild world, reframing our understanding of what it is like to be an animal and what our role is as humans. She throws readers headlong into the mind-blowing, heart-thumping, glittering pageant of life, and goes in search of our most revealing encounters with the animal world throughout the centuries. How did we domesticate animals and why did we choose sheep, goats, cows, pigs, horses, and chickens? What does it mean when a gorilla tells a joke or a fish thinks? Why does a wren sing? Beastly is a gorgeously written, deeply researched, and intensely felt journey into the splendor and genius of animals and the long, complicated story of our interactions with them as humans.”
Published by Harry N. Abrams on July 18, 2023
Keggie Carew has lived in West Cork, Barcelona, Texas, Auckland, and London. Before writing, her career was in contemporary art. She is the author of Dadland, which won the 2016 Costa Biography Award, and Quicksand Tales. She lives in Wiltshire, England, where, with her husband, Jonathan Thomson, she established the Underhill Wood Nature Reserve.
Reviews
“Dazzling … [a] fantastic, heartfelt history of human-animal relations.”–The Guardian
“If you are interested in the animal kingdom; if you are interested in the past, present and future of planet Earth; if you are interested in anything at all, then this gorgeous, joyous, sobering book is for you.”– The Irish Times
“Exhilaratingly busy with ideas … Beastly is greedy for the creaturely kingdom, scooping in facts like a humpback whale engulfing a cloud of krill.”– Perspective
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