{"product_id":"cats-a-history","title":"Cats: A History","description":"\n\u003ctable align=\"center\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"productDetailSmallElements\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCommendation Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tParadoxically, the ubiquity of cats has restricted rather than compelled interrogations into the origins and characteristics of this specific human-animal relationship. Their everywhere-ness has somehow made us incurious. Phillips's book comprehensively corrects this major oversight in a fascinating and deeply satisfying manner. You love cats, and now you know why. \n\u003cbr\u003e--Greger Larson, University of Oxford\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCats have gotten a bad rap through history: they've been persecuted, cursed, and thought to be cursed... But Phillips doesn't just bring that information along in his book: readers will see how felines have had their place in religion, politics, gender, and other facets of human life, and how the presence of a cat in your house can help understand how you feel about dogs, mice and rats, and about other humans. \n\u003cbr\u003e-- \n\u003ci\u003eThe Bookworm Sez\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCommendation Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThis is a readable and clearsighted book that tracks the histories of cats-of all stripes-from their earliest origins to their ubiquitous presence in twenty-first-century social media. Engagingly written, the book tells the story of the ups and downs in cat-human relationships through a wealth of detailed evidence and fascinating first-hand accounts. \n\u003cbr\u003e--Jane Hamlett, author of \n\u003ci\u003ePet Revolution: Animals and the Making of Modern British Life\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t[A]n exhaustive and engrossing survey of the millennia-long relationship between cats and people... traces the process of their rise with aplomb, from Ancient Greece to Grumpy Cat. \n\u003cbr\u003e-- \n\u003ci\u003eForeword Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eContents\u003cbr\u003ePreface\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction\u003cbr\u003e1. From Wildcats to Cats\u003cbr\u003e2. Ancient Egypt: A Celebration of Cats\u003cbr\u003e3. Ancient Greece and Rome: The Ambiguity of Cats\u003cbr\u003e4. The Middle Ages: Cats in the Secular World\u003cbr\u003e5. The Middle Ages: Cats and Religion\u003cbr\u003e6. Early Modern Europe: Cats as Disruptors\u003cbr\u003e7. The Enlightenment: Thinking About Cats\u003cbr\u003e8. Cats Go Global, 1500-1900\u003cbr\u003e9. The War on Cats in the Nineteenth Century\u003cbr\u003e10. Defending Cats in the Nineteenth Century\u003cbr\u003e11. Pet Cats on the Rise in the Twentieth Century\u003cbr\u003e12. Cats in the Modern World: Here to Stay?\u003cbr\u003eAcknowledgments\u003cbr\u003eNotes\u003cbr\u003eSelected Bibliography\u003cbr\u003eIndex\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePromotional Headline\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA sweeping and fascinating history of cat-human relationships.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCommendation Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tA readable and clearsighted book that tracks the histories of cats of all stripes from their earliest origins to their ubiquitous presence in twenty-first-century social media. Engagingly written, the book tells the story of the ups and downs in cat-human relationships through a wealth of detailed evidence and fascinating first-hand accounts. \n\u003cbr\u003e--Jane Hamlett, coauthor of \n\u003ci\u003ePet Revolution: Animals and the Making of Modern British Life\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCommendation Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003ci\u003eCats\u003c\/i\u003e tells the story of changing cat-human relations in an engaging and sophisticated manner, starting with domestication and ending in the present day. The chapters are like a series of learned lectures, where readers will enjoy both a grand narrative and entertaining illustrations. \n\u003cbr\u003e--Michael Worboys, coauthor of \n\u003ci\u003eThe Invention of the Modern Dog: Breed and Blood in Victorian Britain\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCommendation Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tA readable and clear-sighted book that tracks the histories of cats of all stripes from their earliest origins to their ubiquitous presence in twenty-first-century social media. Engagingly written, the book tells the story of the ups and downs in cat-human relationships through a wealth of detailed evidence and fascinating first-hand accounts. \n\u003cbr\u003e--Jane Hamlett, coauthor of \n\u003ci\u003ePet Revolution: Animals and the Making of Modern British Life\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBiographical Note\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRod Phillips\u003c\/b\u003e is a professor of history at Carleton University. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eAlcohol: A History\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eA New History of Divorce\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhether family or foe, cats remain uniquely inscrutable. But though we cannot fully understand them, this fascinating book helps us better understand ourselves. \n\u003cbr\u003e-- \n\u003ci\u003eLiterary Review of Canada\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Marketing\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA sweeping and fascinating history of cat-human relationships.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor more than 10,000 years, cats have prowled at the edges of human life. But, starting only a few decades ago, hundreds of millions of them became pets. In \u003ci\u003eCats\u003c\/i\u003e, Rod Phillips shares a sweeping cultural and social history of felines, tracing their shifting place across societies and centuries, from ancient Egypt's revered hunters to Europe's suspected familiars of witches and from shipboard rodent controllers to cherished internet icons. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhillips illustrates how cats have always occupied spaces both familiar and mysterious and how their perceived independence and disruptive nature--and their associations with women, the supernatural, and outsiders--have shaped humans' attitudes toward these fascinating creatures. Cats have been lauded as companions and vermin-killers, reviled as threats to moral and ecological order, and cherished for the very qualities that make them hard to control. This richly textured portrait of cats explores their significance in religion, politics, gender, literature, warfare, and pop culture. It also provides profound insights into our relationships with other animals, especially dogs and rodents. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe many roles that cats have played throughout history illuminate a variety of contradictions in humans' perceptions of them: as affectionate yet aloof, adorable and evil, ordinary and exceptional. This book is the definitive story of the feline presence in human history--an elegant study of how we live with animals whom we see as living by their own rules.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/span\u003e 04\/01\/2026 pg. 85 (EAN 9781421454184, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eForeword\u003c\/span\u003e 04\/27\/2026 (EAN 9781421454184, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eContributor Bio:\u003c\/strong\u003ePhillips, Rod\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eRod Phillips\u003c\/b\u003e is a professor of history at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. He is the author of \n\u003ci\u003eAlcohol: A History\u003c\/i\u003e and \n\u003ci\u003eA New History of Divorce\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n","brand":"Johns Hopkins University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51496140144918,"sku":"9781421454184","price":39.54,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0857\/9910\/8886\/files\/9781421454184.jpg?v=1783053842","url":"https:\/\/lusper.myshopify.com\/products\/cats-a-history","provider":"Lusperbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}