The Age of the Horse, Susanna Forrest
The Age of the Horse, Susanna Forrest
List: $20.99 | Sale: $14.70
Club: $10.49

The Age of the Horse
An Equine Journey Through Human History

Author: Susanna Forrest

Narrator: Pearl Hewitt

Unabridged: 13 hr 45 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 09/12/2017


Synopsis

Fifty-six million years ago, the earliest equid walked the earth—and beginning with the first-known horse-keepers of the Copper Age, the horse has played an integral part in human history. Combining fascinating anthropological detail and incisive personal anecdotes, Susanna Forrest draws from an immense range of archival documents as well as literature and art to illustrate how our evolution has coincided with that of horses.

In paintings and poems (such as Byron's famous "Mazeppa"), in theater and classical music (including works by Liszt and Tchaikovsky), representations of the horse have changed over centuries, portraying the crucial impact that we've had on each other. Forrest deftly synthesizes this material with her own experience in the field, traveling the globe to give us a diverse, comprehensive look at the horse in our lives today: from Mongolia where she observes the endangered takhi, to a show-horse performance at the Palace of Versailles; from a polo club in Beijing to Arlington, Virginia, where veterans with PTSD are rehabilitated through interaction with horses.

With passion and singular insight, Forrest investigates the complexities of human and horse coexistence, illuminating the multifaceted ways our cultures were shaped by this powerful creature.

About Susanna Forrest

Susanna Forrest lives in Berlin, where she works as a writer and editor. She studied social anthropology at the University of Cambridge.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Margaret on July 25, 2017

Originally posted on Tales to Tide You Over This book is a very difficult one to review, not because it has no value, but because it has too much. I have many pages of notes about interesting elements or things to mention, all of which would make this review far too long. I’ll mention the one weaknes......more

Goodreads review by Al on November 30, 2019

Following two brief chapters at the beginning covering the evolution and domestication of horses, Forrest identifies a selection of ways in which she will provide the reader with points of view concerning humanity’s interrelationship with horses globally. Of many ways in which she could have chosen,......more

Goodreads review by Ceri on February 03, 2018

“We use the horse in more ways than any other animal: we ride on its back, attach it to wagons and ploughs, strap packs to it, drink its milk, eat its meat, go to war on it, cherish it as a pet and have turned it into a symbol of everything from wealth to political power, purity, lasciviousness and......more