Why read Horses in Society?

Book cover of Horses in Society: A Story of Animal Breeding and Marketing Culture, 1800-1920

Book description

Before crude oil and the combustion engine, the industrialized world relied on a different kind of power - the power of the horse. Horses in Society is the story of horse production in the United States, Britain, and Canada at the height of the species' usefulness, the late nineteenth and…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Horses in Society as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Ann Greene

Author

This book traces the connections between horse breeding, biological science, international commerce, and foreign relations in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Derry focuses on three large topics: the breeding of large draft horses, international military horse markets, and government breeding programs. The horse market was essentially a warhorse market. I love how this book shows that looking at something like horse breeding leads to a better understanding of things like political economy and foreign relations. Breeding beliefs and practices reveal a lot about society and culture, and the military material is fascinating. I also recommend the chapter on horse culture…

From Ann's list on horses in history.