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A Short History of the World According to Sheep
A Short History of the World According to Sheep | Sally Coulthard
6 posts | 8 read | 6 to read
'This book deserves a place in your bookcase next to Harari's Sapiens. It's every bit as fascinating and is surely destined to be just as successful' Julian Norton. An addictively free-ranging survey of the massive impact that the domesticated ungulates of the genus Ovis have had on human history. From the plains of ancient Mesopotamia to the rolling hills of medieval England to the vast sheep farms of modern-day Australia, sheep have been central to the human story. Starting with our Neolithic ancestors' first forays into sheep-rearing nearly 10,000 years ago, these remarkable animals have fed us, clothed us, changed our diet and languages, helped us to win wars, decorated our homes, and financed the conquest of large swathes of the earth. Enormous fortunes and new, society-changing industries have been made from the fleeces of sheep, and cities shaped by shepherds' markets and meat trading. Sally Coulthard weaves the rich and fascinating story of sheep into a vivid and colourful tapestry, thickly threaded with engaging anecdotes and remarkable ovine facts, whose multiple strands reflect the deep penetration of these woolly animals into every aspect of human society and culture. REVIEWS: 'This is such a great book: I would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in history or sheep or simply a passion for reading captivating and high-quality prose. It's extremely well researched and written in a very engaging style. It trumped my Clive James memoir, which I put to one side. I read A History of the World According to Sheep within two days. (And that's impressive for me. It usually takes me weeks to finish a book.) You'd never imagine the role sheep have played across the centuries: from the egregious rampaging of Genghis Khan to the success of the Medici dynasty during the Renaissance to the Scottish Highland Clearances of the eighteenth century. The trade in their wool has financed wars; lanolin from their fleeces has fuelled the huge industry in beauty products, and ovine intestines even had a hand in controlling both birth rates and the spread of syphilis. And that's before we get onto jumpers. Or cheese...' Julian Norton, the Yorkshire Vet.
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Jen2
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Very fun!

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lisakoby
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Can‘t wait for my workday to be done!

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Mitch
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I wasn‘t sold at first - as the narrative is quite choppy and one thing leads straight into another - paragraph by paragraph and I felt the content was so interesting I wanted to linger! From Roman armour to Icelandic jumpers, from child labour to condoms - this is the fascinating world history of the impact of sheep on society!

68 likes2 stack adds
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Mitch
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Having just spent the morning at a local livestock show - it‘s a no brainier that the tagged book has risen rapidly up my TBR and is my next read!

LeahBergen Oh, fun! 2y
iread2much I don‘t believe I‘ve ever seen a sheep with a face like that! How interesting 2y
TheBookHippie Oooo fun!! 2y
See All 7 Comments
EvieBee Now that‘s a cutie! 2y
Mitch @iread2much I know right - looks more like a cow! 🤣 2y
iread2much @Mitch totally! 2y
kaysworld1 That sheep's not had enough coffee for that kinda morning!!! 🐑☕️😆 2y
61 likes7 comments
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ClairesReads
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This was a brief, fun, historical tour through the lens of human interactions with sheep. I learned a bunch about our use of sheep products over time (specifically wool), and about lots of other tangentially related things. It's definitely in the vein as Harari's Sapiens and other human history overviews, but is told and constructed in a much more whimsical way. It helps to like sheep, or be interested in the nature of sheep farming.