The Horse

From New York Times bestselling author of The Mosquito, the incredible story of how the horse shaped human history.

The Horse is an epic history that begins more than 5500 years ago on the windswept grasslands of the Eurasian Steppe when the first horse was tamed and an unbreakable bond with humans was forged—a bond that transformed the future of humanity.

Since that pivotal moment, the horse has carried the fate of civilisations on its powerful back. For millennia it was the primary mode of transport, an essential farming machine, a steadfast companion and a formidable weapon of war. With its unique combination of size, speed, strength, and stamina, the horse has influenced every facet of human life and widened the scope of human ambition and achievement.

Horses revolutionised the way we hunted, traded, travelled, farmed, fought, worshipped and interacted. They fundamentally modified the human genome and the world’s linguistic map. They determined international borders, moulded cultures, fuelled economies, and decided the destinies of conquerors and empires. And they were vectors of lethal disease and contributed to lifesaving medical innovations. Horses even inspired architecture, invention, furniture and fashion. From the thundering cavalry charges of Alexander the Great to the streets of New York during the Great Manure Crisis of 1894 and beyond, horses have been integral to both the grand arc of history and our everyday lives.

Timothy C. Winegard’s The Horse is a riveting fast-paced narrative of this noble animal’s unrivalled and enduring place in human history. To know the horse is to understand the world.

Dr Timothy C. Winegard is a New York Times bestselling author of five books including The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator. He holds a PhD from the University of Oxford, served as an officer in the Canadian and British Armies, and has appeared on numerous documentaries, television programs and podcasts. Winegard is an associate professor of history at Colorado Mesa University.

‘A retelling of the most celebrated wars and other conflicts in human history, but with the addition of another army: that of “general mosquito”, brought to centre stage…From the Peloponnesian wars through to World War II, Winegard reframes the action to show that malaria was the decisive factor.’ Tim Flannery on The Mosquito

‘An engaging guide, especially when he combines analysis with anecdote.’ Economist on The Mosquito