The Sheep's Tale

by John Lewis-Stempel

'An important book on several levels... Read a few sentences out loud, wherever you are.' Rosamund YoungI look at the Ryeland ewes, white and fat with fecundity. Replete with contentment.Contentment is a transmissible condition. I catch it off the sheep.The old time shepherds used to sleep with their sheep, out in the fields. I do it sometimes too, on the dry nights, the sheep lying down around me. I'm not sure on those nights who is protecting whom.Everybody thinks they know what sheep are they're stupid, noisy, cowardly ('lambs to the slaughter'), and they're 'sheepwrecking' the environment.Or maybe not. Contrary to popular prejudice, sheep are among the smartest animals in the farmyard, fiercely loyal, forming long and lasting friendships. Sheep, farmed properly, are boons to biodiversity. They also happen to taste good and their fleeces warm us through the winter - indeed, John Lewis-Stempel's family supplied the wool for Queen Elizabeth's 'hose'.Observing the traditional shepherd's calendar, The Sheep's Tale is a loving biography of ewes, lambs, and rams through the seasons. Lewis-Stempel tends to his flock with deep-rooted wisdom, ethical consideration, affection, and humour. This book is a tribute to all the sheep he has reared and sheared - from gregarious Action Ram to sweet Maid Marion. In his inimitable style, he shares the tales that only a shepherd can tell.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Animals

192 pages, Hardcover

First published April 7, 2022

Reviews

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is one sure-fire way of telling how interesting a book is and that is by me saying to the wife “oooooh, check out this bit” once she starts sighing over yet another interruption on what she is doing, you know you have an interesting book. The Sheep’s Tale was full of fascinating facts on sheep and shepherding blended with anecdotes on Lewis-Stempel’s experiences. I also think he is a bit of an Alexa, somehow listening in on my conversations at home, I had been watching Wartime Farm and said I need a good book all about sheep and a couple of days later he tweeted about his new book on sheep coming soon, how he managed to write a whole book in 2 days I’ll never know.

Lewis-Stempel has worked with sheep for decades and he has done it properly, caring a lot for his sheep, making them work the landscape to help with conservation and to give them a healthy food intake. He makes mistakes which he shares with the reader, and he shows how he learns from them, he also shows you what an interesting and intelligent being the sheep is, so full of character that you never really notice as you walk past them in their field whilst they stare at you in a sinister way…I always assumed they were plotting something, I just never realised they may be wondering if we had sweets in our pockets. He shares the highs and the lows; from the first time he successfully helps with birthing a lamb and chilling after a days work when one of his rams comes and sits with him, to finding a favourite sheep in distress and having to put them down. He goes into a lot of detail just when it is needed, following instructions on lambing in this book you could have a high chance of being able to help and to balance things out so the book isn’t heavy on the facts he will tell you a little story about one of his sheep and their distinct personality.

Where his passion really shines through though is in defence of sheep farming, he fights the case of why they are a good thing and that we shouldn’t stop (like some are calling for), yes they do burp a lot and take up a lot of land, but there is the flip side showing all the good they do for the land and how all those fields covered in sheep poop are keeping many many species of animals alive, it’s almost like a whole ecosystem follows the sheep around. His arguments were compelling and explained well and I think what this book shows is if you do it right then sheep farming does a huge amount of good for the environment. I have a newfound respect for sheep now…and a few favourites.

This is a fab book, written by somebody with so much love for the animal they work with, huge amount of things to learn and well worth having a read.

Blog review: https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2022...

[Amy Dale · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF, stopped at page 60.

Just right off I didn't like the writing style at all or the chaotic, meandering of topics and circling back to half finished anecdotes. It also began by listing sheep related places and words, which just wasn't enthralling. Once you get going, it still feels like listening to your uncle rambling on about farming, which some readers might love, but it didn't work for me. History and all sorts of odd topics are knotted up randomly around the stories of his sheep, which is what I was reading for, but there's more extraneous matter than memories.
The stories are short and rather devoid of emotion mostly, even sad ones feel glanced over instead of evoking something from the reader.

The author does speak up about factory farming and about the sentience and intelligence of sheep. He tells of their grief and how human-like it is, he tells of their suffering and fear and the horrors of the slaughter house. He addresses cognitive dissonance and people's conditioned hypocrisy to love cute lambs and eat them an hour later. I applaud him for bringing that to the public's attention but then, even though he acknowledges all of this, he still participates by breeding and selling sheep. He 'loves' them but is okay with completely betraying their trust and sending them to be killed. With all his seeming passion and admittances, this makes no sense, why wouldn't he work to save and protect sheep instead? Or just keep his as pets and stop breeding them. I'm glad his are given as much freedom and respect as possible but I don't share the author's viewpoint on the rest. Lambs are for lovin, not the oven!

[Ryan Lord · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pluvial, katabasis, brume, oubliette - A colleague and friend got me this book after I shot my mouth off about how sheep are responsible for damaging many of the wonders of Britain including the temperate rainforests which would cover much of the west of Britain if left to its own devices.

This friend is pretty wise though so I thought at the very least out of respect I should read the book.

The book is structured around the year. We are taken through lambing, tupping, disease, slaughter etc. He talks about the life of the shepherd unflinchingly. A lot of wet nights and frustrations but also plenty of joy. He's pretty clear that this is a good life and that is the heart of his defence of sheep farming: this is my culture what right do you have to interfere with it? He tags on some attempts at argument that sheep farming is also generally beneficial to the environment but it seems a little limp and uninspired and occasionally so wrong as to feel

There are a couple of slightly cringy lines such as '...in a time of cities and disconnect from the countryside, shepherds, male or female, feel themselves to be the last of a breed: hard, solitary individuals doing real graft out in the elements. It's almost heroic' (emphasis added). Describing yourself as (almost) heroic doesn't exactly smack of Christian humility. Also the statement (responding to a George Monbiott quote) 'In other words, the only landscape worth a jot is one rewilded with trees, trees, trees...'. Seems a little extreme and I don't think many people are that absolutist. I think most people when aware of the facts feel that maybe a bit of rebalancing is in order: sheep farming takes up about one third of the land in Britain and old growth forest takes up under 1.5%.

But I guess overall my feelings about sheep and shepherds have softened. I even have a favourite breed of sheep: the seaweed eating, swimming, endangered North Ronaldsay. It's a good book. Worth reading.

[Lauren Howard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meandering, but also sooo detailed and informative. I could never hope to retain most of the information I just read in this book. It was an impulse purchase from Blackwell's in Edinburgh, Scotland. I had seen so many sheep (and eaten a fair amount of lamb) on my trip to the UK that, when I saw this on a table in the bookshop, I decided that I wanted to take it home to learn more about them.

I can't say I didn't struggle reading this - it often featured long, detailed descriptions of mundane events on the farm or of biological functions of sheep. I know more about lambing now than I ever thought I would, or that I ever will need to know. Still, Lewis-Stempel's voice was unique and distinct. I don't want to fault him in my rating of this book for the fact that it is focused on a topic that I would normally not pick up, hence a solid middle-of-the-road 3 stars.

I may suggest "sheep" as a category next time I manage to win the prize of category selection at a bar trivia night.

[Rosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

ja vet interessant

[franzinera · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful and useful book, suited both for people who knows or wants to know more about sheep and their care. Although sometimes I have lost myself on the technical info, I deeply enjoyed the almost poetical narrative, full of love and admiration for their sheep. There is a chapter on the use of meat so it might be uneasy for some readers, but even so, you can see that he deeply cares for them and offers sustainable ways of doing business.

[Brian Frederick Jerome Eadon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book very much. I've read other books by John Lewis-Stempel and enjoyed them too. I like his style which I find easy to read.
I wanted to read this one as I like sheep. I live in rural mid Wales and have sheep in the field next to our house, and a sheep farmhouse and buildings about 100 yards away, and yet I knew little about the animals that are so much a part of my environment. I do know! The author tells a tale of his life as a shepherd and through it transfers lots of knowledge of many things ovine. He provides an evidence based defence of sheep farming against those who argue that it has been and continues to be bad for the countryside environment.
I thought this was a very good book

[Anzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this book in the lovely book shop in Lerwick after days of walking around on the Shetland islands and seeing sheep everywhere. Lovely animals perfectly suited in that environment.

The under title is "the story of our most misunderstood farmyard animal" and the writer tells his own as well as Britain's history of sheep. Of course he's partial to the sheep being a shepherd himself, but I do agree with him in thinking sheep are a much more environmentally friendly source of food than cattle.

My interest in sheep isn't in eating them, but getting the wool for knitting. There isn't much information about that in this book, but there is a list of different British breeds that I find really helpful in my quest for different kinds of yarn.

All in all a really nice read.

[Ivan Monckton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Lewis-Stempel at his best, writing with passion about a subject he knows inside out! To read this, even as someone who has lived surrounded by sheep for decades, is to have all your ideas about them corrected. A real delight and the author’s best book since “The Running Hare”.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s difficult to know which shelf on the bookcase to place ‘The Sheep’s Tale’, having now read it. Natural History, Food and Farming, Countryside and Conservation, Biography, Comedy? That there is a little bit of everything is both the book’s strength and its weakness. It is a short book delivered in bite sized chunks, easy to pick up and put down without losing the thread (so to speak!)

Lewis-Stempel has first-hand (sometimes painful) experience of sheep, running a small flock of various rare breeds on his farm in Herefordshire. The book is leavened with anecdotes, some humorous, some poignant, drawn from personal experience.

This is an excellent book for anyone wanting to know more about how sheep evolved and how they are farmed in the UK. Lewis-Stempel explains well how sheep fit into the farming system prevalent in this country. His particular passion is for conservation grazing, something that the indigenous breeds he farms are particularly well adapted for.

In recent years, thanks mainly to the polemicist, George Monbiot, sheep have been given a bad press, held responsible for what Monbiot labels our ‘sheepwrecked uplands’. This book, briefly, gives the other side of that story. Lewis-Stempel also tackles what will be for some the main reason for phasing out sheep farming, the fact that we as humans farm them mainly for meat. He includes a short section on ‘ethical carnivorism’.

Like the author I have spent most of my life around sheep and feel as though there is not much I don’t know. However, there were little nuggets of gold in this book. We were always told that a Border Collie’s name should have no more than 2 syllables (preferably 1). But, I now discover that this was advice from the Romans, or at least from Columella in his De Re Rustica. I also hadn’t come across the Dumfries House Declaration of The Campaign For Wool, which seems to be an admirable initiative of the (then) Prince of Wales.

Minor quibbles are the failure to distinguish between South Country and North Country Cheviots (these things matter!) and a couple of references to intensive, multi lamb crop, inside rearing of sheep, as I’m fairly certain that this is not practised in the UK. The book concludes with a helpful appendix of some indigenous sheep breeds, a glossary and a bibliography.

Now that I’m retired I look back on my time spent shepherding and remember the visceral nature of it, the smells, the feel of heat and cold out on the fell or in the field, the sounds of sheep calling to one another, the connection with the land and with the livestock you are caring for, the worries when a sheep is unwell, the joy of watching young lambs racing up and down the hedge line on a May evening, the satisfaction when you take some sheep to market that you’re proud of. It was never just a job, it was very much a way of life.

Lewis-Stempel captures this well, as he fills a hay rack for his sheep on a winter’s morning, “I broke open the bale, put it in the rack, fluffed it around a bit. The sheep pulled quietly at the blades of dry grass behind the mesh. I stood there next to the rack for about five minutes, with the sheep tight around me, enjoying their company. The scent of the hay and the scent of warm wool filled the frosted air, as it had done for centuries.”

[Alina · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an American who had not seen sheep before, I was unable to anticipate what it’d be like to be near these creatures when I lived somewhere that had them. Probably, it’s the combination of Christian symbolism and the visuals of how plump and fluffy they are, they mesmerized me, every time I met one. This brought about my obsession. Maybe, the only other creature whose being around made me feel this way would be babies (of my own species), or people older than me who have just said something profound. While this obsession developed, my partner became very fond of bumble bees. He read a big book on them, which inspired me to look for a book about sheep.

It is interesting to take a whimsical obsession seriously like this, enough to read a book. I probably won’t see sheep for a long time, so can’t say how this read will influence my perception of them. But the book provides structure for how I remember sheep and give my odes to them, from the geographical distances that separate us.

The book itself was okay. The author seems to have an interesting personality, but it came out at a slight frequency and intensity, which made him absent just enough as for various of his jokes to fall flat, or for me to be confused over whether he was joking sometimes, or what he intended to signal about himself or the world by phrasing things in certain manners. I wish he put more of his personality into it, or removed it entirely and wrote a more straightforwardly informative book. For example, out of context, near the end of the book, the author brings up that his mother left him and his father when he was a small child. He quickly moves on to say that his father bought him a golden retriever after that event, and then focuses on the topic of the role of dogs in shepherding.

I liked as a whole how the author took turns between telling the reader sheep facts and narrativizing his personal experiences with sheep. Often, this was effective for deepening the vividness and stakes for each kind of fact. But sometimes the switching would be jarring, and various of the personal recollections felt completely irrelevant. I also would’ve liked more personal philosophical musing about sheep, from this man who has spent so much time with them. Most of the recollections are about particular things he’s seen his sheep do; rather than his poetic musings about the beauty of sheep or various other of their qualities that I imagine he’d see in them.

Here are some fun sheep facts. In order to castrate a lamb, the traditional way involves using your own teeth to gnaw off a certain tendon to finish off the job. Sheep have a peripheral field of vision of 270-320 degrees, without having to turn their heads. Sheep hooves grow like toenails and sometimes need to be trimmed, if they are not worn down, or if they don’t live in an aggressive enough of an environment. Sheep can have personalities that do not obviously correlate with their physicality; a certain “head of the pack” was a scrawny, small female; so, her powerful social position was likely gained through her wits.

[Anne Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

another really powerfuyl educational read - written by a Herefordshire sheep farmer about his life with his flocks, about the history of sheep in Britain (and before!) and an impassioned plea for how important they are to challenge George Montbiot's thinking that Britain suffers from so much sheep-farming - he calls it "sheepwrecked".
I think both are right!! John L-S clearly cares greatly for his flock and knows them intimately, understands about their grazing needs, the role played by sheep (alongside other herbivores) in clearing woodland that has become overrun with brambles etc. But he seems to work always in moderation and in tandem/harmony with the landscape around him which he feels passionate about. Farming on that scale and with that love is a caring of our land; George M I think is castigating large-scale inhumane sheep-rearing, where huge numbers of sheep on mountainsides strip the hills of ground cover (apart from really short grass) so that soil erosion takes place much more rapidly and wildlife variety is seriously depleted. John L-S scoffs the "love of trees" (as something that eco-enthusiasts say must be everywhere) yet i do not think anyone who knows and understands is saying that , the rewilding enthusiasts are always about balance and maximum diversity. It intrigues me that they use cows and horses as the herbivores, not sheep, I dont know why that is .
I must ask George M about this (unfortunately i read this book after hearing GM speak about non-meat diets so did not have the comparison to hand)
I found the information about the sheep themselves, how to care for them, their personalities and all that aspect of the book were so enjoyable to read and i shall continuie to think abnout this topic for a long while!

[Lukie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hiking around the Lake District of England surrounded by sheep and lambs (it was early May) made me curious about sheep and the farming thereof, so I bought this book at Booth's before leaving for home in the U.S. I'm so glad I did!
The author instills respect for a species typically considered dumb, pointing out various traits including their ability to recognize as many as 50 individual faces across species. It seems to be fear that makes them act foolish, falling into gullies and abandoning babies. Some breeds have such strong homing instincts they can be pastured without fences; they'll simply stay within a certain range of the place they were born. I found it all fascinating.
I was also heartened to read about farming techniques that respect the land and the animal. The author argues in favor of keeping the ancient breeds alive due to their superior survival traits, and to do this, oddly, they must also be eaten. All humanely farmed sheep must be eaten (as well as their wool used, of course, and why not bring back the sheep's milk cheeses in Great Britain!), in order to keep this way of life going. A quandary for a vegetarian like me! But since my vegetarianism is mostly based on the cruelties and environmental damage of corporate farming, I wonder if I would eat mutton (!) and lamb, if I lived where they are raised naturally. Not up close and personal--the lambs are completely adorable, and even the author admitted he no longer does the butchering himself but hires someone to come to the farm. (No trucking of animals to an abattoir--a particularly cruel practice.)
It was uplifting to see and read about this way of life.

[Dolores · Rating 3 out of 5]

BX Link: https://bookcrossing.com/journal/1708...
Genre: Non Fiction
Where: United Kingdom
When: Current

Thoughts/Reflections: I tried. I got 70 some pages in. And I’ve added it to a very short “try again later” list. I think at a different time in my life, I would enjoy learning a bit about sheep husbandry from a 21st century shepherd with an appreciation for their history. Now’s just not the right time for me. I’m grateful to the “best of 2023” book ring I’m participating in, that made me aware of it. I’ll pick it up again.

My favorite quotes:

“Because surely sheep, of all the creatures, with all that Christian symbolism and parable attached to them, get past St Peter? Agnus Dei. 'Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.'”

“There is nothing uglier than a newborn lamb.”

“Contentment is a transmissible condition.”

“Clever animals, sheep.”

[Janet Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Until I read this book I didnt realise how little I knew about sheep, how many different types there are, how intelligent they are and the different personalities.
John Lewis-Stempel takes you gently through the history of shepherding, the pitfalls and the joys.
The harsh realities of life as a sheep farmer are not shied away from. He also explains the advantages of farming sheep organically and farming the area as we used to. Our ancestors knew a thing or two. He makes suggestions and raises questions for future farming.

[Alma · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beautiful artwork attracted me to this. Also, my mother loves sheep so I was interested in reading about them. I gre lw up on a farm about sheep so I wasn't completely uneducated in the area of sheep.The author didn't need to convince me of their intelligence, relevance or beauty. That being said, I was warmed by some of the stories. I am jealous of the peace one must feel working in nature and around animals (but I absolutely understand it is not an easy life). A lovely gift for any sheep farmers you might know.

[Tauna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked up this book at Aberfeldy Bookshop in Perthshire, Scotland for a light reading on the ferry or just in the evenings during our holiday. What a sweet surprise to find a fun story but yet very informative! Highly recommend this first person experience with native sheep. Having owned several head of Shetland Sheep myself, i can fully appreciate the author's encounters.

[Sue P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heart warming and inspiring

I loved this book. The author knows his sheep and his care for them is both heart warming and inspiring. The book is a blend of sheep husbandary and informed reflection. It contains fascinating history but also looks forward in a clarion call for sustainable and humane farming.

[Jeremy Butterfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enthralling and hugely informative. Mr Lewis-Stempel writes with elegance, suppleness and wit. This is the second book of his I've read and I would happily go back for a third. It goes without saying that one has to be interested in sheep in some shape or form to enjoy this -- but if you are, you will, if you'll pardon my double ellipsis.

[Reading Fury · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful nature/animal writer. Right up there with James Herriot, and that's the highest compliment! I never really thought too much about sheep, don't even count them to go to sleep. But Lewis-Stempel introduces you to a real cast of characters. Such a fun visit!

[Dark-Draco · Rating 2 out of 5]

A nice enough little read - loved the fact it was set in my home county, so I recognised a lot of the places mentioned. Thought it could have done with some tighter editing in places, as the author did like to skip about a bit in his topics.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a well written interesting book. Makes me want to own a flock of sheep; such clever, noble animals. I never imagined they were dumb and they certainly aren’t. The author lives and cares for his flocks with respect for the sheep. He also has great ideas.

[Margaret M · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love sheep and was hoping for more true focus characters that he told the stories of. It reads like a run-on sentence, hard to follow along, and some sad parts. I skimmed the back half, but I bet for a shepard it would be a very interesting read!

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING!!

[Kharis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful writing as usual and I learned a lot.

[Laura Grant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't grip or interest me as much as some other similar sheep books have but was an ok read

[Mary Rank · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated this British farmer’s point of view about raising sheep. He worked through the calendar year and peppered his essays with history and science.

[Lyn Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

a well written non fiction book with a good insight into the quirkiness of sheep.
as a spinner I found the information on different fleeces and their uses informative

[Alli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book from JLS! I’ve read several of his books now and they don’t disappoint, just the right amount of facts and country life, farming anecdotes.