The Lion's Historian
Africa's Animal Past
Published on 6. May 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
392 pages
978-0-8214-2625-8 (ISBN)
Description
"Until the lion has a historian of his own, the tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunter." Sandra Swart takes up the challenge of that African proverb and, with this book, becomes the lion's historian. As a species, humans are not alone; but our history has been written as though we were. Swart insists on a multispecies retelling of our more-than-human past as she reconstructs a shifting series of significant interspecies relationships, from quirky, idiosyncratic connections to others that triggered major changes.
Embracing a radical interdisciplinarity informed by a background in history and environmental studies, Swart combines the natural sciences with the social sciences, oral history, indigenous knowledge, and archival research. She blends current thinking about animal sentience, agency, cognition, and emotion to offer a new way to understand animals' roles in our shared history.
The animals in this book-baboons, cows, elephants, hippos, horses, jackals, lions, Nazi cattle, okapi, police dogs, quagga, sheep, and white ants-exemplify different facets of our shared past. With this animal-centric lens, decades of research come together in a collection that takes animals seriously. It is a book with claws and fangs, tearing through conventional narratives to ask, Are we prepared to move beyond the convention that "history" is the story of only our own species?
Embracing a radical interdisciplinarity informed by a background in history and environmental studies, Swart combines the natural sciences with the social sciences, oral history, indigenous knowledge, and archival research. She blends current thinking about animal sentience, agency, cognition, and emotion to offer a new way to understand animals' roles in our shared history.
The animals in this book-baboons, cows, elephants, hippos, horses, jackals, lions, Nazi cattle, okapi, police dogs, quagga, sheep, and white ants-exemplify different facets of our shared past. With this animal-centric lens, decades of research come together in a collection that takes animals seriously. It is a book with claws and fangs, tearing through conventional narratives to ask, Are we prepared to move beyond the convention that "history" is the story of only our own species?
Reviews / Votes
Swart has written a wide-ranging, empathetic, and compelling account of the complex entanglements of humans and other animals throughout African history. She argues that human history is incomplete without acknowledging the participation of nonhuman actors, and she shows that the stakes are high for all of us.- Harriet Ritvo, Massachusetts Institute of Technology There are very few historians who are capable of writing as passionately and well as the self-proclaimed feral ape, Professor Sandra Swart of Stellenbosch University. The Lion's Historian is an astonishing, delightful, occasionally deeply depressing, but always highly enlightening, read detailing animal histories in Africa. Dr. Swart has set the benchmark high for a subject that is only set to grow in our contemporary world.
- Jan-Bart Gewald, Leiden University Drawing upon oral history, ethology, and paleontology, as well as a veritable Noah's ark of animals, from the okapi to the quagga, Swart compels us to recognize our shared predicament. Written with erudition, verve, and wit, this book makes an urgent and ethical call to our better selves. A tour de force!
- Dilip M. Menon, University of the Witwatersrand A book that obliterates so many boundaries, human and animal, through narratives layered with meaning and riveting all at once. Lions animate the past in complex ways interwoven with different sets of humans. No account of the human condition can be complete without animals we regard as important. This one sets the bar pretty high. South Africa may be the site of inquiry, but the work has implications well beyond.
- Mahesh Rangarajan, Ashoka University The Lion's Historian offers a treasure of fresh thinking about the African past. With creativity, insight, and an inimitable voice, Sandra Swart demonstrates, repeatedly and richly, the rewards of taking animal actors seriously.
- Nancy Jacobs, Brown University A book with both a deep understanding and a vitally needed critique of the historian's craft. Swart's lively, original, and needed voice is always astonishing!
- Nigel Rothfels, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Athens
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
36 b&w illustrations and 14 color photos in gallery
Dimensions
Height: 242 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
576 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8214-2625-8 (9780821426258)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Sandra Swart is a professor and chair of the Department of History at Stellenbosch University. She received her DPhil in modern history from Oxford University while simultaneously obtaining an MSc in environmental change and management, also at Oxford. She studies the socioenvironmental history of southern Africa, focusing on the shifting relationship between humans and animals.