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Man and Beast in an Age of Human Warfare
Frank Westerman
ISBN: 9781846550881
Format: Hardback
Publisher:Vintage
Also available as an eBook
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When you touch a Lipizzaner, the author was told as a child, you are touching history. This title explores the history of these creatures, an extraordinary troop of pedigree horses first bred as personal mounts for the Emperor of Austria-Hungary.
'When you touch a Lipizzaner,' Frank Westerman was told as a child, 'you are touching history.' In "Brother Mendel's Perfect Horse" he explores the history of these unique creatures, an extraordinary troop of pedigree horses first bred as personal mounts for the Emperor of Austria-Hungary. Following the bloodlines of the studbook, he reconstructs the story of four generations of imperial steeds as they survive the fall of the Habsburg Empire, two world wars and the insane breeding experiments conducted under Hitler, Stalin and Ceausescu. But what begins as a fairytale becomes a chronicle of the quest for racial purity. Carrying the reader across Europe, from imperial stables and stud farms to the controversial gene labs of today, Westerman asks, if animal breeders are so good at genetic engineering, why do attempts to perfect the human strain always end in tragedy? Brother Mendel's Perfect Horse, a unique and engrossing fusion of history and travel writing, is a modern fable in which the pure-blood horse ends up revealing man's own shortcomings.
| ISBN | 1846550882 | | DEWEY edition | DC23 | | ISBN13 | 9781846550881
(What's this?) | | Pages | 320 | | Publisher | Vintage | | Weight (grammes) | 459 | | Imprint | Harvill Secker | | Published in | London | | Format | Hardback | | Height (mm) | 222 | | Publication date | 02 Aug 2012 | | Width (mm) | 144 | | Translator | Sam Garrett | | Spine width (mm) | 30 | | DEWEY | 940.5 | | Academic level | General |
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"Westerman's account of the Lipizzaners' remarkable survival makes stirring reading. His tales of research in secret archives and encounters with wartime veterans who helped with Operation Cowboy have the subterfuge and tension of a thriller" -- Jane Shilling Sunday Telegraph "A most charming book" -- Allan Mallinson The Times "Westerman's own unique process of hybridisation, his mix of travel writing and history, yet again proves a winner. He proves himself an enquiring and thoughtful historian" -- Lucy Scholes Independent "When you touch a Lipizzaner, you're touching history," Westerman was once told. His elegant book offers fascinating proof" -- Carl Wilkinson Financial Times "A masterpiece" De Standaard  Be the first to write a customer review
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