Kindle Price: $13.99

Save $5.00 (26%)

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Audiobook Price: $21.83

Save: $14.34 (66%)

You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

Buy for others

Give as a gift or purchase for a team or group.
Learn more

Buying and sending eBooks to others

  1. Select quantity
  2. Buy and send eBooks
  3. Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.

Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.

Follow the author

Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Why Did the Chicken Cross the World?: The Epic Saga of the Bird that Powers Civilization Kindle Edition

4.4 out of 5 stars 184

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Andrew Lawler takes us on a fascinating journey through the history of a fundamental source of human protein. This is an appealing, beautifully written exploration of an important, but hitherto neglected, major player in our history. I’ll never think about chickens the same way again.” (Brian Fagan, author of The Attacking Ocean )

“Prize-winning journalist Andrew Lawler takes on the world in this elegant and engaging paean to poultry. Part travelog, part scientific history, all rollicking good fun, this marvelous journalistic exploration scours six continents to bring us a deep appreciation and understanding of our uneasy relationship with one of nature's most fascinating creatures—from sex symbol to religious icon to ‘24-hour two-legged drugstore.’ This book challenges not only everything we thought we knew about this most beleaguered bird, but of nature itself. Astonishing.” (Ellen Ruppel Shell, Author of Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture, and Co-Director, Graduate Program in Science Journalism, Boston University )

Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road? is an eye-opening journey that restores the chicken to its proper place in human history. You’ll be surprised by how much you didn’t know.” (David Grimm, author of Citizen Canine: Our Evolving Relationship with Cats and Dogs )

"This fast-paced and well-written book reads like a detective story. Who would have guessed that the humble chicken’s exotic past would make such a fascinating tale full of high-stakes intrigue? If you want to be educated and entertained--move this book to the top of your reading list." (Wenonah Hauter, author of Foodopoly )

“Surprising and delightful. This engaging and provocative book tracks the chicken's transformation from gorgeous red jungle fowl to today's highly engineered animal.. A fascinating read that adds to the mounting pile of evidence that animals, even chickens, are capable of much more than we usually think." (Virginia Morell, author of Animal Wise: How We Know Animals Think and Feel )

"Comprehensive...an epic journey. A splendid book full of obsessive travel and research in history, mythology, archaeology, biology, literature and religion." (Kirkus, starred review)

"The planet's most populous and edible bird really does open a window on civilization, evolution, capitalism, and ethics. (Reading about it is lots of fun, too.)" (New York Magazine)

"Lawler is an entertaining guide with an easy touch, whimsical but never random." (vulture.com)

"Rip-roaring, erudite... His perspective gives fresh insight into the problems created by the ubiquity of chickens -- as well as possible solutions." (Nature)

"An encyclopedic examination of the chicken's ever-grorwing and complex role in societies and civilization... Readers are sure to come away with a deeper understanding of--and greater appreciation for--an animal that's considered commonplace." (Publishers Weekly)

"[An] absorbing survey of one of our most important cross-species relationships... witty, conversational." (Booklist, Starred Review)

"Wide-ranging and fascinating." (Columbus Dispatch)

“A whole flock of fun. Lawler mixes science and history…. That makes for a well-rounded, informative, and highly enjoyable book... A book you’ll crow about.” (Terri Schlichenmeyer Tyler Telegraph)

"How Cockfighting Changed History: Why Did the Chicken Cross the World? suggests that the vicious sport 'may be responsible for creating the bird that today is the world’s single most important source of protein.'” (Andrew Sullivan The Dish)

"Fascinating and delightful... Mr. Lawler’s globe-trotting tour shows that the bird has played a remarkable role in human history—and will almost certainly continue to do so. Right out of the chute, Mr. Lawler impresses us with the bird’s ubiquity... Readers will laugh—and want to buy Mr. Lawler a drink... What unfolds from this exhaustive reporting is a story not just large in scope but surprising in its details." (Christopher Leonard, author of The Meat Racket Wall Street Journal)

"An examination of the lowly chicken reveals a bird with a grand past – and a grim present. It’s time to give the 20 billion chickens on our beleaguered planet a little more respect and a lot more love... The chicken has accompanied us on each stage of our journey from primitivism to modernism...Lawler is convincing when he concludes that we are more like the chicken than we might admit,'gentle and violent, calm and agitated, graceful and awkward, aspiring to fly but still bound to earth.'” (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

"How this humble bird saved humanity -- No bird is a match for the chicken... Lawler chronicles how a wild bird from Southeast Asia ended up being mass-produced by the billions and raised in every country, he writes, except one." (Daily Beast)

"Before the middle of the 20th century, America’s chickens were a varied and hearty lot. The midcentury Chicken of Tomorrow project changed all that...just as the Manhattan Project brought together scientists, engineers, and government administrators to unlock the secret of the atom, the Chicken of Tomorrow project drew on thousands of poultry researchers, farmers, and agriculture extension agents to fashion a new high-tech device—the Cornish Cross breed of chicken we have today—built to live fast, die young." (Wall Street Journal)

"Is this the golden age of food history? ...Make room for Andrew Lawler’s paean to that most munched-on fowl of them all, the chicken. Lawler brings an omnivorous curiosity to a creature that gets too little respect given its long service to mankind." (The Dallas Morning News)

"In exacting historical and scientific detail, Lawler reveals how the reliable crow of the cock, along with his mate’s prodigious egg-laying abilities, allowed chickens to become 'the world’s most ubiquitous bird.'” (MacLean's)

  "Andrew Lawler’s
Why Did the Chicken Cross the World…[details] one surprising fact after another that ultimately reveal a grand truth: that chickens are everywhere and are inextricably linked to the emergence and maintenance of human civilization.… Lawler’s book goes a long way toward restoring chickens to their respected position within human history and our modern world. Both chickens and people will benefit as a result." (Science Magazine)

“Lawler chronicles the impossible journey of the chicken through history. From its roots as a secretive jungle fowl in the wilderness of Southeast Asia millennia ago, the bird has spread across all nations and cultures. But now agricultural science has turned the chicken into a mass-produced factory animal, bred and housed in horrendous assembly-line conditions to provide protein to millions of people. Endlessly fascinating, endlessly heartbreaking.” (Tim Gallagher, Editor-in-Chief, Living Bird and author of Imperial Dreams )

About the Author

Andrew Lawler is the author of more than a thousand newspaper and magazine articles on subjects ranging from asteroids to zebrafish. He is a contributing writer for Science magazine and a contributing editor for Archaeology magazine. He has written for National Geographic, Smithsonian, Discover, Slate, Columbia Journalism Review, The New York Times, and several European newspapers, among others. See more at AndrewLawler.com.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00IWTWPY0
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Atria Books; Reprint edition (December 2, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 2, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3600 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 337 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 184

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Andrew Lawler
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Andrew Lawler is author of three books, Under Jerusalem: The Buried History of the World's Most Contested City, published in November 2021; The Secret Token: Myth, Obsession, and the Search for the Lost Colony of Roanoke, a national bestseller, and the widely acclaimed Why Did the Chicken Cross the World?: The Epic Saga of the Bird that Powers Civilization. A long-time journalist, he has covered the impact of war on the ancient heritage of Iraq and Afghanistan, the battle over Confederate statues, and archaeological discoveries on six continents. A contributing writer for Science and Archaeology magazines, his byline has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Geographic, Smithsonian, and many others, and his work has been featured several times in The Best of Science and Nature Writing. For more, see www.andrewlawler.com

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
184 global ratings
As a chicken book, this is kinda poop.
1 Star
As a chicken book, this is kinda poop.
I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting when I sat down to read "Why Did The Chicken Cross the World?: The Epic Saga of the Bird that Powers Civilization", but suffice it to say, my expectations were not met. I blame the unreadable formatting of the book, which was not in kindle, pdf, or even paper, but was actually a green roller from an Amazon conveyor belt. Would not recommend.
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review

Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2015
4 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2019
3 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2020
Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2014
4 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2020
Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2016
2 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2015
6 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2016

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
Emily Robertson
3.0 out of 5 stars Not very much about the chickens...
Reviewed in Canada on June 16, 2019
Claudio Luigi Mori
3.0 out of 5 stars un buon libro sulle galline
Reviewed in Italy on November 29, 2017
The Prof.
4.0 out of 5 stars Wide ranging
Reviewed in Australia on November 22, 2016
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant and disturbing
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 29, 2015
One person found this helpful
Report
Tracey H
4.0 out of 5 stars Accessible and interesting
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 10, 2016
Report an issue

Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?