What do you think?
Rate this book
The Cow: A Natural and Cultural History
A richly illustrated introduction to the science and history of the cow
We populate the countryside with cows the world over, and their familiar presence ensures that global demands for milk and beef are met. But with more than a billion cattle on the planet, the importance of cows extends well beyond food production. Cows are venerated by some religions and shunned by others; they provide leather for shoes, clothing, and other uses; and they have long been central to the agricultural way of life, working the fields, pulling carts, and providing fertilizer. The Cow is a comprehensive guide to help us understand these important animals, offering a wealth of information about their anatomy and behaviors, breed varieties, and place in human culture past and present. Exploring the cow’s livestock credentials and beyond, this book combines engaging and informative text, beautiful photographs, and explanatory diagrams to examine the cow's fascinating biology, its hard-wired behaviors, and its relationship with humankind.
We populate the countryside with cows the world over, and their familiar presence ensures that global demands for milk and beef are met. But with more than a billion cattle on the planet, the importance of cows extends well beyond food production. Cows are venerated by some religions and shunned by others; they provide leather for shoes, clothing, and other uses; and they have long been central to the agricultural way of life, working the fields, pulling carts, and providing fertilizer. The Cow is a comprehensive guide to help us understand these important animals, offering a wealth of information about their anatomy and behaviors, breed varieties, and place in human culture past and present. Exploring the cow’s livestock credentials and beyond, this book combines engaging and informative text, beautiful photographs, and explanatory diagrams to examine the cow's fascinating biology, its hard-wired behaviors, and its relationship with humankind.
- GenresNonfiction
224 pages, Hardcover
Published May 11, 2021
4 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 1, 2022
"Moo!"
No reviews! Inconceivable! for this is a bounteous book about our bovine buddies. Pretty much everything you would want about an animal is featured in this volume, part of a multi-volume series, at least one of which (The Chicken) is written by the same author, and Rutland knows her shit from her cowshit, be sure.
An impressive and accessible first section goes through the cow's prehistoric ancestors, genetic lineage and recently extinct and extant cousins. The main focus of the work is on Bos taurus tauru, the cow you know and love, but Bos taurus indicus (they have those weird humps) gets fair play, too. There are great sections on cow anatomy, behavior, sex, and, of course, their interactions with humans. In fact, this last bit takes up the bulk of the narrative since there are hardly any wild cows anymore. Rutland goes through the history of cow/human interactions, how we milk them, eat them, and wear them. Several sections of common sense humaneness and environmental stuff makes the fact that we slaughter these guys wholesale a little more palatable, but not by much. If burgers weren't so delicious...
No reviews! Inconceivable! for this is a bounteous book about our bovine buddies. Pretty much everything you would want about an animal is featured in this volume, part of a multi-volume series, at least one of which (The Chicken) is written by the same author, and Rutland knows her shit from her cowshit, be sure.
An impressive and accessible first section goes through the cow's prehistoric ancestors, genetic lineage and recently extinct and extant cousins. The main focus of the work is on Bos taurus tauru, the cow you know and love, but Bos taurus indicus (they have those weird humps) gets fair play, too. There are great sections on cow anatomy, behavior, sex, and, of course, their interactions with humans. In fact, this last bit takes up the bulk of the narrative since there are hardly any wild cows anymore. Rutland goes through the history of cow/human interactions, how we milk them, eat them, and wear them. Several sections of common sense humaneness and environmental stuff makes the fact that we slaughter these guys wholesale a little more palatable, but not by much. If burgers weren't so delicious...
Want to read
June 1, 2022SF195 .R88 2021 Steenbock Library
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews