Customer Reviews

Horses at Work: Harnessing Power in Industrial America

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I thought I had read all there was to read on the history of working horses in America, but this book proved that I should keep reading, with the hope that authors like Greene keep writing.

Instead of setting a nostalgic goodbye-to-horses scene, Greene proposes that the process of industrializing America couldn't have happened without horses, every step of the way. She even proposes that the Great Depression was partly caused by the lapse in agriculture when horse feed and grain demands dropped off precipitously.

My favorite chapter was on the Civil War, when she points out the North's advantage of machine-made horseshoes and 1000-horses-to-a-paddock remount stations.

Never sentimental, Greene methodically makes the case for the horse as a tool that was used on many fronts, in many guises. I suspect the scenario she paints in late 19th century America is still the paradigm in many third world countries.

Horses have never stopped working in most places in the world but this snapshot of our industrial-age past shows where horses helped make it all possible, contrary to many other accounts that paint an abrupt transition from the horse-and-buggy-age to the machine age.

The industrial history of the horse would not seem, at first blush, to be a fascinating subject. But in the hands of Ann Norton Greene, it is!

Greene has managed to dig about troves of information about the role of horses and other equines in 19th century America. She demonstrates their central role in economic development but also stress related social dimensions.

Give this book a try. If you have any interest in 19th century U.S. history, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

This is a tremendous book!

It is one of the best American history books I have read since1776andWashington's Crossing (Pivotal Moments in American History).

Among many other things it explains: how difficult intercity travel was until 1890's, the relationship of the railroads and horse drawn transport, the development of horse breeds, horse drawn logistics in the civil war and much, much more. Those who might be especially appreciate this book would be those interested in: farming, urban development, history of transportation & logistics, or horses.

It is an interdisciplinary masterpiece