Review "Considering the central role that cows have played in cultures around the world, it is remarkable how rarely an author has undertaken to devote an entire book to the complex history of this commendable animal. All the more welcome, therefore, is Hannah Velten's Cow, a brief but eminently readable book positively crammed with every sort of cattle lore."--Richard Bullie "Agricultural History ""The book's design and illustrations are beautiful, which means, I suspect, that Cow will be probably bought most often as a gift--for country lovers, perhaps. . . . Velten has a passion for her subject and it comes across. Her account is sweeping but precisely detailed and subtly persuasive. . . . Look hard at cows and you learn about humans. Fascinating and delightful."-- (11/11/2007)"A fascinating paperback . . . A fascinating mix of history, myth and record prices paid for top breeding animals."-- (12/08/2007)"The book feels comprehensive despite its size, for Velten's writing is meticulously well researched. . . . She makes fascinating detours into domestication, breeding, art, religion, BSE, stampedes and the rodeo, and the section on African pastoralism is particularly evocative. . . . Velten's passion for the cow works subtly, incrementally becoming the narrative which binds the text together, and her insights into this seminal beast leave us wanting more."-- (02/08/2008)"She aims to help us see the animals that produce beef, milk and leather as mythical and awe inspiring."--Country Smallholding (11/01/2007) Synopsis Cows, bulls, and oxen are everywhere, physically and figuratively: references, images and symbolism abound in myth, folklore, religion, art, literature, film and the media; even cities have been created around cattle. This ubiquity is undoubtedly due to their long and close association with mankind: since earliest times the power of aurochs (wild oxen) has been harnessed to plow fields, and they also provided meat, milk, milk products such as cheese and butter, leather, horn, and a myriad other useful and valuable goods to early humans. Early civilisations regarded these animals as their wealth, and revered and respected them in religious and secular life. In modern civilisations, however, we have lost this intimate relationship: cattle are now viewed mainly as commodities, set apart from our daily lives. While we are still exploiting the usefulness of cattle, we rarely give them the respect they are due. "Cow", by Hannah Velten, re-introduces the cow, the bull and the ox to the modern reader. It aims to make people think about the animals that are producing their beef, milk and leather, and to see them, once again, as mythical and awe-inspiring.The book begins with the domestication of the auroch around 9,000 BC, and moves through time and around the globe, charting the changing social relationship of man and cattle through myth, folklore, religion, art, literature and film. Containing more than 100 illustrations, with over 30 in colour, "Cow" is a lively and also thought-provoking re-introduction to these noble and majestic creatures. About the Author Hannah Velten is a freelance journalist who has worked as a livestock reporter for Farmers Weekly and has years of experience working with cows and oxen, including on Australian cattle stations and dairy farms in the UK.
S**O
a very comprehensive study of all things bovine, covers ...
a very comprehensive study of all things bovine, covers the origins of the species, history & domestication, and looks at the various roles that cows & bulls have played in human society over the ages, there are lots of photo's, prints and illustrations throughout, it is a must read for anyone who loves or is interested in cows.
S**E
Bought for Valentines Day for my husband... ...
Bought for Valentines Day for my husband...he loves it! ( he likes cows, we even have three cow paintings in our bedroom ;-) )
M**N
Cow
Lovely little book full of information and facts .easy to slip into your pocket read at leisure . Nice Pictures far more info than I expected as it tells you facts about cows from early settlements, place in religion to them in paintings in a way a very interesting book to have Enjoy .
T**F
Animal magic!
What a brilliant book. If you're tempted to think cows are boring, think again. This is full of fascinating fact and stories, and has some gorgeous photos and illustrations. Anyone who lives in the countryside or is interested in natural history or indeed social history will enjoy this gem of a book.
B**L
Essential Bovine Hardcopy
Well-writ, well-illustrated, good read. Author's only mistake was to believe the corporate cover up of "mad cow disease," which is caused by insecticide residues in contaminated drinking water.
S**R
A great read!
If you're interested in the history and evolution of the bovine race, this is your book!
L**T
A source of milk, leather, traction and meat, but also important as a cultural concept.
I share the other reviewers' sentiments, but will give a longer list of reasons. Let's start with the fact that Velten is a fine writer who here manages to make cattle a fascinating subject. Then there are the many and excellent illustrations. Then the topic--something as prosaic as cows made into a compelling and fascinating read. Be aware, however, that this is not a book on farming, dairying, or animal agriculture; it's more a cultural analysis of cows, and cattle more generally as features in the human mind--as expressed in fable, story, art, film, painting.The first portion tracks cattle from the ancestral bovine. Chapter 2 is largely myth and legend, much of it fascinating--the Minotaur and all. The book looks at uses of cattle: milk, traction, leather, meat. It examines different breeds, and cows as symbol of rural idyll. It deals with more, such as rodeos, differing cultural attitudes regarding cattle, and more. There is a great deal of information. Velten also considers industrial agriculture in the production of meat and milk, noting that it's out of sight and out of mind, and the animals are regarded as industrial inputs, not as living beings.
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