I lost my Netgallery virginity to this book, and I feel pretty good about it. Respected, like. Alice Roberts treated me well, didn’t talk down to me and taught me a lot. She knows her stuff, and has some very good instincts about how to present it.

As an example of that last statement, she decided to devote the first of ten chapters (each describing a different plant or animal that has been domesticated) to dogs. This could be because dogs are our oldest allies, first domesticated around 35,000 years ago. And that’s pretty fortunate, as this marked the beginning of a 20,000 year Ice Age. Those dogs, who were essentially wolves that had evolved to digest starch and enjoyed free meals, helped out ancestors tough out their hunter-gatherer lifestyle amidst the glaciers. This is pretty astonishing, since the old wisdom is that we didn’t begin domestication until settling down in an agricultural lifestyle. We now know that even hunter-gatherers built villages, allowing time for wolves to overcome their shyness in order to grab whatever chunks of bison the humans didn’t eat. Anybody that's formed a strong bond with a dog knows what great and loyal companions they are, so the book got off to a good start.

Dog breeds as we understand them today, in all their glorious variety, have all been bred within the past couple of hundred years. Until then, they all looked more or less like wolves.

I don’t want this review to become a litany of facts about wheat, rice, potatoes and corn; horses, dogs and cattle. Oh, and chicken and apples, too. Suffice to say that we can learn a lot about human history by studying the history – both artifacts as well as genetics – of these species, and the nice tidy history we’ve learned of Mesopotamians inventing agriculture around 9000 years ago is a bit too simplistic. While this story generally holds together for wheat, people were farming rice in the lovely and romantic Longsheng region of China at about the same time, and of course corn and potatoes were still confined to the Americas, but doing quite well, thank you.

Roberts notes that Europeans north of the Alps were initially suspicious of the potato – after all, if it was meant for people to eat, why didn’t the Good Book mention them? It was also believed they led to elevated levels of lust and flatulence. “Hopefully not at the same time,” the author helpfully observes. It’s one of many commonsense observations she makes throughout the book.

Scientists were excited to find clay cooking pots, or at least pottery shards, in a Chinese cave dating back over 25,000 years. Those of you who’ve been paying attention will remember this was in the heart of the most recent Ice Age. While scientists note the role that cooking cereals played in aiding digestion, Roberts notes that a pot over the fire after a hard day of hunting and gathering in freezing conditions was an appealing thought indeed, and they didn’t need no science malarky about enzyme conversion to enjoy a nice hot meal. Similarly, she notes that horses were probably not tamed by the village chieftan/warrior, but by a group of teenage boys with too much time on their hands (which exactly reflects my own experience with trying to ride a horse that adamantly didn’t want to be ridden. "C’mon, boys, let’s ride this thang!")

Only the most committed of paleophiles will be enthralled with all ten chapters of this -- it did tend to become repetitive. But any of the long chapters is rewarding on its own -- just pick the ones that interest you. Her final chapter, on how humans tamed themselves and became citizens, was perhaps the weakest. But I recommend this book without hesitation to anybody who is interested in what a tough and smart bunch our ancestors (and their dogs) were.

This book explores the history of domestication, revealing how humans transformed plants and animals—and how they, in turn, transformed us.

I loved this. It’s a wonderful exploration of the cooperation between humans and the natural world. It also points to some of the dangers present in monoculture. It’s engaging, informative, and easy to read.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

A wonderful book!! It was very informative and yet also very easy to read and entertaining to read. This book is definitely a keeper for me.

An interesting and informative book that I found highly enjoyable and a great read for those interested in plants and animals. I liked the way the author structured the book and how they wrote about each of the plants and animals listed. 4.5/5

I think this book was really interesting. I like the informative take on this book, and how the things we may not give a second thought to, but use daily, is just so interesting It was eye opening and informative!!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

I started reading this book because I just loved the concept. Unfortunately, the promising start didn't translate into a consistently engaging read. I did not finish the book. While the initial chapters were insightful and well-researched, the author's writing style became increasingly dense, making it a struggle to stay engaged throughout.

Thanks to NetGalley and The Experiment for providing me with an advanced review copy.

I really found the information in Tamed informative and interesting. Any animal lover will think the same, I think. I didn't realize when I requested Tamed on NetGalley that it was of the same content as Alice Roberts' 2017 book of the same name.

I enjoyed this book. The best parts of the book are where Roberts tells fictious stories to set the stage for discussing domestication. I also enjoyed the thorough discussion and I found the science very accessible. There was also some clever wording that I enjoyed. I did feel, however, that the book had a couple of weak points. Some of the writing was overly literary and sometimes there was just too much detail. Overall, this is a very worthwhile read. Thank you to Netgalley and The Experiment for the digital review copy.