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Chickens
- Their Natural and Unnatural Histories
- Narrated by: Katherine Dyer
- Length: 7 hrs and 36 mins
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Editor reviews
Janet Lembke's affection for chickens comes through in this lively audiobook about the history of the bird, covering topics such as its descent from the dinosaurs and its appearances in literature. Narrator Katherine Dyer's unhurried, amiable performance delivers complex details and interesting facts about the chicken with ease, and she finds the right amount of humor and matter-of-factness when narrating funny anecdotes, personal testimonies, and even scientific data.
Listeners will be surprised and pleased at the amount of interesting information in this audiobook and will come away with a new appreciation for this humble barnyard fowl.
Summary
A fascinating cultural history of chickens in our world.
Framed by the author’s personal experience with backyard hens, Chickens: Their Natural and Unnatural Histories explores the history of the chicken from its descent from the dinosaurs to the space-age present. En route, Lembke surveys chickens in ancient Greece, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the 19th century, and modern times, including the role of chickens in Jewish and Muslim practices. She also investigates the birds’ contributions to science and their jaunty appearances in literature. Eggs receive a chapter of their own, as does chicken cuisine, comprising recipes from the Roman Empire to today’s favorites. Stories about chickens appear, too, often written by those who keep them, including the painter Grandma Moses, the man who holds Cleveland’s Farm Animal Permit No. 17, and Brenda, who had to give her young roosters a talking-to for behaving like sheep.
Chickens have only recently come to a sorry pass in the Western world, where broilers and laying hens are factory-farmed. Lembke investigates the fate of such birds and explores the sustainable, humane alternatives to raising birds for meat and eggs.
A celebration of the chicken in its every aspect, Chickens is sure to delight the chicken fancier, the backyard chicken keeper, and everyone concerned about where our food comes from and how we can treat animals more compassionately.
What listeners say about Chickens
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- C. Dickinson
- 18-11-22
Interesting for anyone who is interested in hens
A comprehensive book covering all aspects of chicken history and how they were kept through the ages.
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- Amazon Customer
- 27-05-22
Some intersting anecdotes but not great.
Toad in the hole is Yorkshire pudding and sausages. Wat is wrong with Americans
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