Vendor
	Fritz Agency Christian Dittus
Original language
English

HOW TO TAME A FOX (AND BUILD A DOG)

Lee Alan Dugatkin Lyudmila Trut

Visionary Scientists and a Siberian Tale of Jump-Started Evolution

Tucked away in Siberia, there are furry, four-legged creatures with wagging tails and floppy ears that are as docile and friendly as any lapdog. But, despite appearances, these are not dogsthey are foxes. They are the result of the most astonishing experiment in breeding ever undertakenimagine speeding up thousands of years of evolution into a few decades. In 1959, biologists Dmitri Belyaev and Lyudmila Trut set out to do just that, by starting with a few dozen silver foxes from fox farms in the USSR and attempting to recreate the evolution of wolves into dogs in real time in order to witness the process of domestication. This is the extraordinary, untold story of this remarkable undertaking.

Most accounts of the natural evolution of wolves place it over a span of about 15,000 years, but within a decade, Belyaev and Trut's fox breeding experiments had resulted in puppy-like foxes with floppy ears, piebald spots and curly tails. Along with these physical changes came genetic and behavioral changes, as well. The foxes were bred using selection criteria for tameness, and with each generation, they became increasingly interested in human companionship. Trut has been there the whole time, and has been the lead scientist on this work since Belyaev's death in 1985, and with Lee Dugatkin, biologist and science writer, she tells the story of the adventure, science, politics, and love behind it all. In HOW TO TAME A FOX, Dugatkin and Trut take us inside this path-breaking experiment in the midst of the brutal winters of Siberia to reveal how scientific history is made and continues to be made today.

To date, fifty-six generations of foxes have been domesticated, and we continue to learn significant lessons from them about the genetic and behavioral evolution of domesticated animals. HOW TO TAME A FOX offers an incredible tale of scientists at work, while also celebrating the deep attachments that have brought humans and animals together throughout time.

FueCHSE ZaeHMEN
Domestikation im Zeitraffer
Deutsch von Jorunn Wissmann
PB Springer 04/18

Available products
Book Published 2017-04-01 by University of Chigaco Press

Comments

Over the course of decades, Russian scientists transformed wild foxes into friendly pets. They used no science-fiction genetic engineering. They simply guided evolution. This landmark experiment tells us some profound things about domestication, behavior, and ourselves. Finally, someone has written a book-length account of the experienceand a fascinating one at that. -- Carl Zimmer, New York Times Science Columnist (Matter) and author

In 1959, two Soviet geneticists, Dmitri Belyaev and Lyudmila Trut, embarked on an experiment that is still continuing today, and has revolutionized the scientific understanding of domestication:...It is an extraordinary story, and How To Tame a Fox tells it well. Read more...

A cheerful, easy-to-read account that expounds upon the wonders of scientific achievement. (...) Writing a simple, straightforward narrative suitable for lay readers, Dugatkin and Trut spin complex genetic science into a fascinating story about adorable foxes.

Dugatkin and Trut have collaborated to produce a well-written and engaging account of one the most influential biological studies ever: the fox farm experiment. Over sixty years ago, a Russian geneticist dared to start an experiment to see if foxes could be domesticated and what variables contributed to the changes domestication brought. The courage involved in starting such an experiment in the USSR of the 1950s was remarkable; the dedication and curiosity that have kept it going ever since have led to stunning new insights on the mechanisms of domestication. -- Pat Shipman, author of The Invaders: How Humans and Their Dogs Drove Neanderthals to Extinction

Dugatkin is a veteran science writer with a knack for turning sprawling subjects into compact, enjoyable narratives. Ms. Trut, now in her 80s, is both a co-author and a subject of the book... her intense participation adds a rare degree of intimacy to this science story.

An excellent book; the writing is clear and makes for fascinating popular science. This book will attract a wide audience, and I know of none other with such a dramatic combination of good science and social history. -- Aubrey Manning, Edinburgh, Scotland

Sparkling... A story that is part science, part Russian fairy tale, and part spy thriller.

Can new kinds of animals be brought into being outside of DNA tinkering and Frankensteining? Most certainly, as a long-running Russian experiment reveals. . . . The science is profound, but the authors write accessibly and engaginglyand their vulpine subjects are awfully cute, too. Of compelling interest to any animal lover and especially to devotees of canids of all kinds.