Sheep: The Remarkable Story of the Humble Animal That Built the Modern World - Softcover

Alan Butler

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1846943817 ISBN 13: 9781846943812

Publisher: O Books, 2010

Synopsis

What was the most important step in civilization? Alan Butler's answer is that it was when we began capturing wild sheep, domesticating and breeding them. Sheep were the mainstay of ancient cultures, by far the most important of the domesticated animals. Able to survive almost anywhere, over-wintering successfully, they provided not just milk, meat and skin, but warm clothing. This is why so many of the earliest gods and their myths are sheep related, from the Egyptian Ra (ram) to the later Christian Lamb of God. But sheep have not only sustained us for thousands of years. Sheep farming also underpinned the growth of European nation states, international trade and modern economies. In effect sheep 'built' the modern world. The demands of the woollen textile industry both drove and financed the Industrial Revolution. The British Empire was founded on wool. The space needed for sheep drove millions off the land, many of whom took them to Australasia and the Americas. With over a billion sheep in the world today the humanity-sheep relationship represents the most successful example of mammalian symbiosis on the planet. The story of the sheep is the story of humanity, a surprisingly exciting and gripping tale that deserves to be told. Spanning a vast period of time, it includes some of the most famous names that have been left to us by history, and many that deserve to better recognized.

About this title

Review:

A rattling good read! --Reading Clinic BBC Radio 4

An eminently readable story that will fascinate and surprise the reader on every page. Step by step he explains how our dependence on sheep has caused wars, forged empires, inspired technological advances, displaced millions of people and has ultimately led to the world we know today. --Sheep Farmer

Besides history there are also good practical bits of information in this book. It is not a sheep history book, but rather a collection of sheep related historical accounts written in an easy-to-read style. --Eva Griffith, Sheep!

About the Author:

Alan Butler has had a life-long interest in sheep. He writes stage and radio plays, and has published Civilization One, The Templar Continuum, The Virgin and the Pentacle and The Goddess, the Grail and the Lodge. He lives in the East Riding, England.

About this edition

• Publisher: O Books
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1846943817
• ISBN 13: 9781846943812
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224