The contradictions and moral ambiguities of our collective attitudes to animals are baffling. By telling the love–hate story of man and beast, from their first acquaintance in deep prehistory to the present day and beyond, award-winning environmental journalist Richard Girling reveals how and where the contradictions began – and how they have persisted, warped and become magnified ever since.

In dazzling prose, The Longest Story discusses the cumulative influence of theologians, writers, artists, philosophers and scientists across the centuries, bringing us face to face with current debates on extinction, animal rights, pets, experiments and religion.