From the Publisher
An informal social history—rich and surprising—of the centuries old relationship between cows and humans. A far from humdrum book—it will open even jaundiced eyes. —Larry McMurtry.
Kirkus
A historical hodgepodge of things bovid. At the outset, Carlson (A Fever in Salem, 1999, etc.) notes that cattle ranching is today one of the great polarizing issues in world ecology, cattle being both destructive and voracious. Though she recognizes the dangers of cattle grazing in sensitive landscapes, she mostly comes down on the side of the cattle keepers in this wide-angle view of the role of ranching in human societies around the world. That role is of critical importance, she writes, for "obtaining hay and feed, building pens and barns, and learning how to preserve milk and its products has changed us far more than it has changed the bovines. One could argue that they domesticated us." Her swift-moving narrative begins with the cave paintings of western Europe, which depict the aurochs, a wild ancestor of the modern domesticated cow; it moves along to describe attempts in Hitler's Germany to retro-breed the aurochs, long extinct, from the wilder breeds of cattle that roam the earth today, and it considers the ethical questions associated with the modern tendency to treat cattle as food-producing machines rather than things with faces and minds. In between, the author touches on just about every possible oddment and bit of trivia that bears on cows, from political scandals surrounding the use of preservatives in the Spanish-American War to the history of margarine ("a food so sterile that no living matter can exist in it"). Carlson's narrative is easy enough to absorb, although it often reads like an assemblage of index cards, mixing quoted and cribbed material with ill-fitting transitions. The author has relied on only a few printed sources at that, some of them erroneous andoutdated: anthropologists, for instance, are no longer comfortable maintaining that cattle cultures are more egalitarian than, say, fishing societies, and it's a stretch to suggest that women suffer from depression more than men because they eat less red meat. Still, it's a handy gathering of facts and opinions on our ill-used bovine friends.
Journal of the West
The author has written a most interesting factual, well-documented book on cattle history.
Booklist -
Hoover
Entertaining and informative...readers learn more than they ever imagined wanting to know about cattle, but not more than they should.
New Yorker
Meticulously researched...marshals her arguments with clarity and persuasive force.
Harper's Magazine -
Guy Davenport
A wholly wonderful essay!
Library Journal
Cattle were first domesticated by humans thousands of years ago. They are not native to the Americas, however, and did not reach the New World until their introduction by Spanish explorers. The impact of cattle on the history and culture of the world, including the United States, has been considerable. Carlson, whose previous works include a study of the New England witch trials and a book about women missionaries in the American West, covers many aspects of the relationship between cattle and people, from ancient times to the present. She has done an excellent job of extracting information and ideas from books, research journals, and popular magazines and has organized the material here into a lively and coherent whole. Carlson goes well beyond history of the bovines themselves to discuss the U.S. beef and dairy industries and their products, our changing dietary habits, consumer health and food safety, environmental and animal rights issues, and the special historical relationship between women and cattle. An excellent complement to this volume, especially for public libraries, is Sara Rath's entertaining The Complete Cow (Voyageur, 1998); while less detailed and narrower in scope than Carlson's book, it includes many color illustrations plus a lengthy chapter on breeds. Carlson's fine account is recommended for both public and academic libraries. William H. Wiese, Iowa State Univ. Lib., Ames Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Booknews
Carlson, a writer based in Washington state begins with the earliest records and theories about the domestication of cattle, in Mesopotamia, then traces their arrival and fate in the Americas and explores some modern aspects. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Kirkus Reviews
A historical hodgepodge of things bovid. At the outset, Carlson (A Fever in Salem, 1999, etc.) notes that cattle ranching is today one of the great polarizing issues in world ecology, cattle being both destructive and voracious. Though she recognizes the dangers of cattle grazing in sensitive landscapes, she mostly comes down on the side of the cattle keepers in this wide-angle view of the role of ranching in human societies around the world. That role is of critical importance, she writes, for "obtaining hay and feed, building pens and barns, and learning how to preserve milk and its products has changed us far more than it has changed the bovines. One could argue that they domesticated us." Her swift-moving narrative begins with the cave paintings of western Europe, which depict the aurochs, a wild ancestor of the modern domesticated cow; it moves along to describe attempts in Hitler's Germany to retro-breed the aurochs, long extinct, from the wilder breeds of cattle that roam the earth today, and it considers the ethical questions associated with the modern tendency to treat cattle as food-producing machines rather than things with faces and minds. In between, the author touches on just about every possible oddment and bit of trivia that bears on cows, from political scandals surrounding the use of preservatives in the Spanish-American War to the history of margarine ("a food so sterile that no living matter can exist in it"). Carlson's narrative is easy enough to absorb, although it often reads like an assemblage of index cards, mixing quoted and cribbed material with ill-fitting transitions. The author has relied on only a few printed sources at that, some of them erroneous andoutdated: anthropologists, for instance, are no longer comfortable maintaining that cattle cultures are more egalitarian than, say, fishing societies, and it's a stretch to suggest that women suffer from depression more than men because they eat less red meat. Still, it's a handy gathering of facts and opinions on our ill-used bovine friends.
What People Are Saying
Linda M. Hasselstrom
Balanced, intelligent, and seasoned with telling anecdotes.
— author of Windbreak: A Woman Rancher on the Northern Plains.
Larry McMurtry
Far from a humdrum book about cows, this book will open even jaundiced eyes.
Dave Howard
A fascinating historical description of how cattle have shaped our human history.
—Washington State Grange News
Julia H. Haggerty
A provocative discussion that is bound to engage readers from outside academic circles.
—H-Net Reviews
Samuel S. Epstein
This is the first book of its kind and well deserves to be widely read.
— Professor Emeritus of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago.
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