The Horse : A Galloping History of Humanity

The Horse: A Galloping History of Humanity by Timothy C. Winegard traces 5,500 years of the relationship between humans and horses, from their first domestication on the Eurasian Steppe to the present day.

Winegard argues that horses have shaped nearly every aspect of civilization - transport, agriculture, trade, warfare, language, borders, and even human genetics - with examples ranging from Alexander the Great's cavalry and the Mongols' relay messenger networks to the horse's role in the First World War and the Great Manure Crisis that gripped New York City in 1894.

The book makes the case that the horse, more than any other animal, has been humanity's essential ally in building the modern world.