Ten species that changed our world... For readers of Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens, Alice Roberts’s groundbreaking new book, Tamed, reveals how taming our most important animals and plants changed these species – and us – forever.
The extraordinary story of the species that became our allies.
Dogs became our companions
Wheat fed a booming population
Cattle gave us meat and milk
Maize fuelled the growth of empires
Potatoes brought us feast and famine
Chickens led us to wonder about tomorrow
Rice promised us a golden future
Horses gave us strength and speed
Apples travelled with us
HUMANS TAMED THEM ALL
For hundreds of thousands of years, our ancestors depended on wild plants and animals to stay alive – until they began to tame them.
Combining archaeology and cutting-edge genetics, Tamed tells the story of the greatest revolution in human history and reveals the fascinating origins of ten crucial domesticated species; and how they, in turn, transformed us. In a world creaking under the strain of human activity, Alice Roberts urges us to look again at our relationship with the natural world – and our huge influence upon it.
An Economist and Mail on Sunday 'Book of the Year' 2017
About the Author
Alice Roberts is an anthropologist, writer and broadcaster, and is currently Professor of Public Engagement in Science at the University of Birmingham. She has presented several landmark BBC series including The Incredible Human Journey, Origins of Us, Coast and The Celts. Her latest book on evolutionary biology, The Incredible Unlikeliness of Being, was shortlisted for the Wellcome Trust Book Prize in 2015.
Industry Reviews
A masterpiece of evocative scientific storytelling. -- BRIAN COX
Epic and joyous, a landmark in the story of us. -- Adam Rutherford
Two recent pioneers of the history of humanity are Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs and Steel, and Yuval Noah Harari, in his book Sapiens. It is a teeming subject, about which Roberts is multiply qualified to write, as an anatomist, archaeologist, anthropologist, paleopathologist and professor of public engagement in science. Roberts remains composed, engaging and undogmatic throughout... Tamed is an excellent point of entry for anyone who wants to understand the new deep human history and what it portends. -- Peter Forbes * Guardian *
[A] lively work of popular scientific history, in which [Roberts] looks at 10 species that have become part of our everyday existence ... illuminating facts, Roberts is an informed guide to the oddities that have made the world what it is today. * Observer *
Tamed may be the title of Alice Roberts' latest book, but the writing is anything but tame. Lyrical storytelling untangles the current thinking on how we've entwined our lives with those of plants and animals. From dogs to apples to potatoes to chickens, Roberts provides fascinating insights into domestication, offering anecdotes from past and present that link genetic and archaeological findings. -- Liz Kalaugher * 'Book of the Month', BBC Wildlife Magazine *
