Beastly: The 40,000-Year Story of Animals and Us

From an award-winning nature writer, true stories of our shared planet, all its inhabitants, and the fascinating ways they connect in the net of life

Animals have shaped our minds, our lives, our land, and our civilization. Humanity would not have gotten very far without them--making use of their labor for transportation, agriculture, and pollination; their protection from predators; and their bodies for food and to make clothing, music, and art. And over the last two centuries, humans have made unprecedented advances in science, technology, behavior, and beliefs. Yet how is it that we continue to destroy the animal world and lump its magnificence under the sterile concept of biodiversity?

In Beastly, author Keggie Carew seeks to re-enchant readers with the wild world, reframing our understanding of what it is like to be an animal and what our role is as humans. She throws readers headlong into the mind-blowing, heart-thumping, glittering pageant of life, and goes in search of our most revealing encounters with the animal world throughout the centuries. How did we domesticate animals and why did we choose sheep, goats, cows, pigs, horses, and chickens? What does it mean when a gorilla tells a joke or a fish thinks? Why does a wren sing? Beastly is a gorgeously written, deeply researched, and intensely felt journey into the splendor and genius of animals and the long, complicated story of our interactions with them as humans.

Author: Keggie Carew
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
Published: 07/18/2023
Pages: 384
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.28lbs
Size: 9.25h x 6.35w x 1.26d
ISBN: 9781419767036


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 05/15/2023
Publishers Weekly 05/22/2023
Booklist 06/01/2023 pg. 11

About the Author
Keggie Carew has lived in West Cork, Barcelona, Texas, Auckland, and London. Before writing, her career was in contemporary art. She is the author of Dadland, which won the 2016 Costa Biography Award, and Quicksand Tales. She lives in Wiltshire, England, where, with her husband, Jonathan Thomson, she established the Underhill Wood Nature Reserve.