The Cultural History of Animals presents an innovative and compelling introduction to current scholarship about the historical relationships between people and other animals. * Harriet Ritvo, Arthur J. Conner Professor of History, M.I.T. * An innovative and ambitious project that synthesizes knowledge of animals as living creatures and their symbolic representations... an invaluable contribution to our understanding... A combination of surprise and entertainment with serious research gives these volumes a place in the best tradition of accessible science. * Bernd Huppauf, New York University for H-Soz-u-Kult * High quality editing, clear writing, and abundant visual illustrations ... These volumes will be basic to future scholarship dealing with animals and society. Essential. * Choice * Provide informative and enjoyable reading, and should inculcate desires for histories of animals in other cultures and elaborations of histories already presented. Each volume is attractive and well made, and has its own (thorough) bibliography. * Robert W. Mitchell, Anthrozoos (Volume 22, Issue 3) *

A Choice Outstanding Academic Title, 2008 A Cultural History of Animals is a multi-volume project on the history of human-animal relations from ancient times to the present. The set of six volumes covers 4500 years of human-animal interaction. Volume 1: Antiquity to the Dark Ages (2500BC-1000AD) Volume 2: The Medieval Age (1000-1400) Volume 3: The Renaissance (1400-1600) Volume 4: The Enlightenment (1600-1800) Volume 5: The Age of Empire (1800-1920) Volume 6: The Modern Age (1920-2000, including a discussion of animals in the future) As the same issues are central to animal-human relations throughout history, each volume shares the same structure, with chapters in each volume analysing the same issues and themes. In this way each volume can be read individually to cover a specific period and individual chapters can be read across volumes to follow a theme across history. Each volume explores: the sacred and the symbolic (totem, sacrifice, status and popular beliefs); hunting; domestication (taming, breeding, labour and companionship); entertainment and exhibitions (the menagerie, zoos, circuses and carnivals); science and specimens (research, education, collections and museums); philosophical beliefs; and artistic representations. The full six volume set combines to present the most authoritative and comprehensive survey available on animals through history.