A History of the World in 100 Animals

Wildlife get the spotlight in this intriguing study from journalist Barnes (Ten Million Aliens), an exploration of how humans’ interactions with animals shaped history. He posits that the wholesale slaughter of bison in North America in the 19th century, for example, was responsible for the United States becoming “the nation it is today” because it removed a major resource for Native Americans; that a plague spread by fleas in 14th-century Europe led to changes in religion after the Black Death; and that “whales changed human possibilities” thanks to the oil made from their blubber, which “provided a genuinely bright source of illumination” and made the night a time for productivity. Throughout, Barnes demonstrates many lessons humans can learn from the animal kingdom: the platypus, for example, shows that “there are creatures queerer than we are capable of supposing,” and the realization of dolphins’ intelligence has led to “rethinking about the place of humans in the world.” Vivid illustrations are a bonus and complement Barnes’s moving prose, as when he notes that the saola, a forest-dwelling bovine discovered in Vietnam in 1992, was “the land’s last secret. The age of finding is over; we are already deep in the age of losing.” This impressive survey offers plenty to savor. (Apr.)