Virginia Dejohn Anderson, Creatures of Empire: How Domestic Animals Transformed Early America

Creatures of the Empire

Virginia Dejohn Anderson

Oxford, Oct 2004, $37.50, 322 pp.

ISBN: 0195158601

The underlying premise that Virginia Dejohn Anderson's terrific book makes is that animals have been key driving forces in human history; that argument has been used in other books such as Jeffrey Lockwood's LOCUST: THE DEVASTATING RISE AND MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF THE INSECT THAT SHAPED THE AMERICAN FRONTIER and GRASSHOPPER DREAMING. Ms. Anderson provides an intriguing and entertaining case that farm animals (cattle, pigs, and sheep) are as critical to American History as apple pie, Pilgrims, and Founding Fathers. CREATURES OF THE EMPIRE argues using historical references and interesting anecdotal examples that livestock changed the landscape, especially the relationships between people. She concentrates on Colonial America as she makes the point that domestic farm animals in New England and Virginia were key segments of shaping society and led to conflict over land ownership between the settlers and the Indians. Besides making a strong case in support of her theory, Ms. Anderson's book is a well-written, easy-to-pick-up-and-put-down, thought-provoking volume that history buffs will appraise and then argue the fascinating premise over the water cooler.

Harriet Klausner