J. Edward Chamberlin
Horse
How the Horse Has Shaped Civilizations

From the Ice Age to the industrial age, horses and humans have been joined in soul and flesh. They gave us the freedom to go where we pleased and do what we wanted, which allowed us to destroy our enemies and our environment. We teach them, and we learn from them. We treasure them, and we treat them badly. They hurt us, and we turn to them to help us heal ourselves. They are powerful, and they are prey.

A work of impeccable scholarship and astonishing originality, Horse masterfully combines a huge range of natural, social, economic, cultural, and spiritual sources to illuminate our extraordinary relationship throughout history. Written in lucid, vivacious prose full of wisdom, passion, and wonder, Horse is the utterly fascinating and marvelously enlightening story of horses and humans from the beginning of time to the present.

J. EDWARD CHAMBERLIN is University Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Toronto. He was the Senior Research Associate with the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples in Canada, and has worked extensively on native land claims around the world. Chamberlin has bred horses, and has collected stories about humans and horses for much of his life. His books include If This Is Your Land, Where Are Your Stories? and The Harrowing of Eden: White Attitudes Towards Native Americans.

“This is an author with the mind of a world-class scientist and the heart and prose of a poet.”
—The Hudson Review

“Chamberlin’s Horse is clear, precise, poetic, and thoroughly original. It immerses the reader in a highly fascinating and engaging portrait of the relationship between horses and humans throughout the millennia and across all continents. This is a landmark book.”
—David Larkin, author of Country Wisdom

“With his signature blend of humor, wisdom, and insight, Chamberlin explores the fascinating collaboration of people and horses. If you come along for the ride, you will never look at horses or humans the same way again.”
—Teresa Jordan, author of Riding the White Horse Home

“A philosophical history and a lyrical essay...especially eloquent on...the horse as domestic animal that also represents wildness.”
—Jane Smiley, in the Washington Post

“Both as a genuine labor of love and awe and as a treasure trove of equinalia, Horse is bound to find many delighted fans.”
—Los Angeles Times

“Even for those who think they know a lot about horses, our companions through 4,000 years of shared history, J. Edward Chamberlin’s remarkable and engrossing book will provide a wealth of unexpected—and entertaining—knowledge about the role of the horse in human history.”
—Michael Korda, author of Horse People

“An enchanting essay: poetic and personal, but also learned and reflective. J. Edward Chamberlin combines equine magic with horse sense. He is a sort of honorary Houyhnhnm, whispering wisdom into human nostrils.”
—Felipe Fernández-Armesto, author of Civilizations