A free-ranging survey of the huge impact that the domesticated ungulates of the genus Ovis have had on human history.

'This book deserves a place in your bookcase next to Harari's Sapiens. It's every bit as fascinating and is surely destined to be just as successful' Julian Norton From the plains of ancient Mesopotamia to the vast sheep farms of modern-day Australia, sheep have been central to the human story. Since our our Neolithic ancestors' first forays into sheep-rearing nearly 11,000 years ago, these remarkable animals have fed us, clothed us, changed our diet and language and financed the conquest of large swathes of the earth. Sally Coulthard weaves this fascinating story into a vivid and colourful tapestry of engaging anecdotes and extraordinary ovine facts, whose multiple strands celebrate just how pivotal these woolly animals are to almost every aspect of human society and culture. This title was published also in the United States under the title Follow the Flock. 'A snappy, stimulating book, and certainly not just for shepherds' Mail on Sunday 'Full of fascinating social history' Independent 'You won't look at a sheep in the same way again' Country Living

Coulthard's lively history celebrates the millennia-old relationship between humans and ovines from prehistoric times to The Yorkshire Shepherdess, and looks to a future in which sheep play a part in sustainable agriculture