Stylishly lit and shot against a studio background, these portraits showcase 40 of the world’s most distinctive breeds, primped and preened for their moment in the spotlight. Featuring prize-winning cocks and hens, this is the ultimate in poultry portraiture. The book includes descriptions of each breed, covering their origins, physical attributes, and uses. There’s also a history of hens and roosters through the ages, an introduction to the breed basics, and reportage photography from behind the scenes at the shows. Beautiful Chickens is the perfect gift for anyone, whether their fancy is for all things fowl or simply for beautiful photography. It’s the coffee-table book guaranteed to get your guests talking, whether clucking over the remarkable imagery or ruffling feathers with poultry observations.

How did animal breeding emerge as a movement? Who took part and for what reasons? How do the pedigree and market systems work? What light might the movement shed on the assumptions behind human eugenics? In Bred for Perfection, Margaret Derry provides the most comprehensive and accessible book yet published on the human quest to improve and develop livestock. Derry, herself a breeder and trained historian of science, explores the "triangle" of genetics, eugenics, and practical breeding, focusing on Shorthorn cattle, show dogs and working dogs, and one type of purebred horse, the Arabian. By examining specific breeders and the animals they produced, she illuminates the role of technology, genetics, culture, and economics in the system of purebred breeding. Bred for Perfection also provides the historical context in which this system arose, adding to our understanding of how domestication works and how our welfare—since the dawn of time—has been intertwined with the lives of animals.