Having been sensitized to the importance of bovines by noticing their ubiquity in ancient art, Sharpes (education, Arizona State U.) had an epiphany at a bull fight: he was watching a ritual portrayal of the domestication of civilization's most prized food source. He traces the taming of the bull and the domestication of the cow, and their designation as gods and goddesses, throughout the world, including their close relatives the yak and Asia and bison in America. His story extends to mad-cow disease and cloning. Annotation 2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
