Jacob F. Field - A Short History of the World in 50 Animals

This book is a history of the world, from the time of the earliest life forms to the twenty-first century, told through the stories of fifty different animals, and their impact and significance. The animals considered range from microscopic to massive, from extinct to flourishing, from domesticated to wild, and are drawn from every corner of the Earth.

A Short History of the World in 50 Animalsbegins with an exploration of some of the most important early animals, including the origins of how water-based animals began to evolve to adapt to life on land, as well as the dinosaurs, who roamed the planet for millions of years. Although the majority of dinosaurs became extinct, a group of them survived as birds, which continue to flourish today. This chapter examines the debates that arose about how life on Earth developed, and how the Galpagos finches helped inspire the theory of evolution. This had huge implications for how humans viewed Creation, including their evolutionary link to the great apes. Chapter two details how animals have been used to help humans live and prosper, as well as fight each other. It includes some of the most important domesticated animals from the very first, the dog, to other important agricultural species like horses, chickens, pigs and llamas. It also details how geese saved ancient Rome from total destruction in 390 BC and how the emu became the focus of a military campaign but ultimately emerged victorious. The third chapter shows the huge symbolic role animals play in mythology, religion and culture. While some are largely maligned, like the tricky red fox, the mischievous monkey and the destructive bat, others, like the Eurasian brown bear, are venerated as protective totems, and the dove is a symbol of love and purity. Other animals are linked to great empires and political power, such as the grey wolf, the lion and the eagle. Chapter four considers how animals have contributed to science, health and medicine. It includes the animals that, in absolute terms, have been the most deadly to humans the flea and mosquito as well as those that have helped treat us, like the leech and the guinea pig. Animals have also been the subject of intense study, particularly related to their intelligence, as the stories of Clever Hans the horse and David Greybeard the chimpanzee show. The final chapter provides examples of how animals have been used in trade and industry, going back to some of the first to be domesticated, such as the cow. It then looks at how two animals, the silkworm and the dromedary camel, have helped to stimulate and facilitate long-distance trade for centuries. Finally, it examines how humans have exploited marine creatures, in particular the largest animal to have ever lived, the blue whale.

There is much to be learned from how animals have shaped, and contributed to, human history.