Beastly

The 40,000-Year Story of Animals and Us

By: Keggie Carew

Narrated by: Pippa Haywood

Animals have shaped our minds, our lives, our land, and our civilization. Humanity would not have gotten very far without them—making use of their labor for transportation, agriculture, and pollination; their protection from predators; and their bodies for food and to make clothing, music, and art. And over the last two centuries, humans have made unprecedented advances in science, technology, behavior, and beliefs. Yet how is it that we continue to destroy the animal world and lump its magnificence under the sterile concept of biodiversity?

In Beastly, author Keggie Carew seeks to re-enchant listeners with the wild world, reframing our understanding of what it is like to be an animal and what our role is as humans. She throws listeners headlong into the mind-blowing, heart-thumping, glittering pageant of life, and goes in search of our most revealing encounters with the animal world throughout the centuries. How did we domesticate animals and why did we choose sheep, goats, cows, pigs, horses, and chickens? What does it mean when a gorilla tells a joke, or a fish thinks? Why does a wren sing? Beastly is a gorgeously written, deeply researched, and intensely felt journey into the splendor and genius of animals and the long, complicated story of our interactions with them as humans.

©2023 Keggie Carew (P)2023 Tantor

Great narrator, fascinating facts & history.

Great narrator, fascinating facts and history. Very valid points of view. Thoroughly researched and written. Enjoyed every bit of the book!