The Age of the Horse

An Equine Journey Through Human History

By: Susanna Forrest

Narrated by: Pearl Hewitt

Fifty-six million years ago, the earliest equid walked the earth-and beginning with the first-known horse-keepers of the Copper Age, the horse has played an integral part in human history. Combining fascinating anthropological detail and incisive personal anecdotes, Susanna Forrest draws from an immense range of archival documents as well as literature and art to illustrate how our evolution has coincided with that of horses.

In paintings and poems (such as Byron's famous "Mazeppa"), in theater and classical music (including works by Liszt and Tchaikovsky), representations of the horse have changed over centuries, portraying the crucial impact that we've had on each other. Forrest deftly synthesizes this material with her own experience in the field, traveling the globe to give us a diverse, comprehensive look at the horse in our lives today: from Mongolia where she observes the endangered takhi, to a show-horse performance at the Palace of Versailles; from a polo club in Beijing to Arlington, Virginia, where veterans with PTSD are rehabilitated through interaction with horses. With passion and singular insight, Forrest investigates the complexities of human and horse coexistence, illuminating the multifaceted ways our cultures were shaped by this powerful creature.

©2016 Susanna Forrest (P)2017 Tantor

Enjoyed this so much!!

I really enjoyed this book. I like the lyrical writing and the depth of the subject matter. I love horses and history so this is a great listen for me,. I'll probably listen to this more than once.

Adequate - C Minus

The book was ok. It had some useful tidbits in it. The author occasionally drifted off topic and discussed politics and so forth. Apparently, she has a rather childish trust in government that she likes to expound upon. The narrator was adequate but had so interesting pronunciations and tended to be smarmy. The wasn’t terrible, but not great either. For a grade, I’d give it a C minus.

Just a little boring .

First of all I love horses, have owned and ridden them most of my life, they are my passion. As such, any educatoinal equine book is worth listening to. The detail of names constantly of people being thrown in a sentence tool up so much of the information, it detracted from the point.

I found it hard to get over the narrators simpering , plaintive voice , though I did find her attempts at accents quite well done and rather amusing.

I gave it 4 stars as I think there was a lot of work put into the book and would have felt mean.

Quite honestly, I glad it's over!

Somewhat boring

I'm really into horses but this book was a drag to listen to. It didn't give me that many new insights. I have to say though that the author researched the topic well. It just felt uninspired.

Loved this book!

Beautifully and thoughtfully written. Excellent narration. It held my interest throughout. I highly recommend this book.