A Perfect Harmony: The Intertwining Lives of Animals and Humans throughout History is an informative, insightful history of animal domestication through the ages, by late ASPCA president Robert Caras, author of numerous fine works on pets and wildlife. As Caras defines it, domestication is “the shaping of a species by man, using selective breeding to replace natural selection.” By studiously reviewing the origins and probable methods of domestication and the ancestry of all manner of animals, from goats and horses in the Stone Age to camels and elephants around 4000 B.C., to ferrets and cats in more recent years, Caras explains how “animals have played a vital role in man's evolutionary course.”
ROGER CARAS-AN APPRECIATION, BY ALAN M. BECK
FOREWORD BY ARTHUR C. CLARKE
TIME LINE: 100,000 YEARS OF HUMAN HISTORY
PREFACE: What If?
ONE: The Other Scenario
PART ONE: BEFORE AGRICULTURE
TWO: The Goat: The Animal That Changed the History of Man
THREE: The Sheep: From Fiber to Factory
FOUR: Reindeer: The Only Domestic Deer in the World
FIVE: The Dog: The Animal That Forever Changed the Emotions of Man
PART TWO: EARLY AGRICULTURE
SIX: Cattle: A Fierce Giant Subdued
SEVEN: The Buffalo, the Banteng and the Yak: Icons of Other Cultures
EIGHT: Swine: Meat for the Table of Everyman.
PART THREE: THE BURDEN-BEARERS
NINE: The Elephant: Man's Most Powerful Servant
TEN: The Camel Family: Reluctant Facilitators
ELEVEN: The Horse: Energy and the Servant of Man
TWELVE: The Ass, the Donkey and the Mule: The Priceless Plodders
PART FOUR: THE CONTROLLED HUNTERS
THIRTEEN: The Cat: Goddess or Devil?
FOURTEEN: The Mongoose and the Ferret: On Silent Patrol
PART FIVE: SMALL PACKAGES
FIFTEEN: The Cavy and the Dormouse: Small Feasts
SIXTEEN: The Rat, the Mouse and "Shelf Pets": Lesser Accomplishments
SEVENTEEN: The Rabbit: Food for All
EIGHTEEN: Fur-Bearers: In the Name of Vanity
NINETEEN: The Chicken: At Every Table, in Every Pot
TWENTY: The Turkey: For Special Occasions
TWENTY-ONE: The Duck, the Goose and the Swan: Fine-Feathered Friends
TWENTY-TWO: The Pigeon, the Falcon and Other Birds: Special Niches
TWENTY-THREE: Companion Birds: Connections to the Wild
TWENTY-FOUR: Fish, the Silkworm and the Bee: Finery and Food
TWENTY-FIVE: Past Failures and Future Hopes
AN AFTERWORD
GLOSSARY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
