T.'s landmark survey of animals in Roman culture was originally published in 1973, together with R.E. Walker's appendix on Roman veterinary medicine, and although it is now 40 years old it has never been bettered as an introduction to the topic, in either its scope or its wealth of illustrations. This new edition aims to make the book accessible not only to a new generation of scholars, but to a wider audience; it includes a substantial introduction by M. Henig, and nineteen new colour plates to supplement T.'s 140 black-and-white photographs.

Henig's introduction, which combines warm personal reminiscences with an overview of current scholarship on Roman animals, aims to bridge the gap since the book's original publication by correcting the few points which have changed in the light of subsequent research, supplementing the material where there are obvious gaps and positioning the book in the context of recent developments in ancient animal studies. Henig includes material on groups of animals not considered by T., primarily insects and hybrid monsters such as the griffin, centaur and chimera, and illustrations informed by his own expertise in ancient gems and archaeology: the new plates include mosaics, gems and bronzes from Roman sites in Britain (a fine spotted panther from the Woodchester mosaic finds its way onto the cover) as well as more familiar material from Pompeii and Ostia. Henig also expands on those areas where scholarship has advanced, notably zooarchaeology (a single paragraph), the application of sociological theory and the influence of animal ethics. The introduction is followed by two pages of recommended further reading to bring T.'s bibliography up to date: works on general topics, art (specifically the publication of the Mildenberg collection) and on individual species are given, all in English, in keeping with the aim of broadening the book's audience. To the general works one would now want to add N. Sykes' important study Beastly Questions: Animal Answers to Archaeological Issues (2014); on individual species, C. Greenlaw's excellent The Representation of Monkeys in the Art and Thought of Mediterranean Cultures (2011) should be noted. One or two minor errors have crept into the new introduction: ‘Gellicus’ for Gellius, ‘Innocenti’ for a bear named Innocentia and some stray grammatical errors. A.J. Parker's ‘Birds of Roman Britain’ appears twice in the recommended reading.

Henig comments that if T.'s study were to be written today it would be different in form, less of a catalogue and more influenced by anthropological approaches, and that is no doubt true, but its virtue lies in its comprehensive approach. He oddly does not refer to Walker's appendix, but this too repays republication, as it is still the only accessible survey of Roman veterinary practice. This is not a coffee-table book (many of the original illustrations are of indifferent quality), but an indispensable handbook of references to animals in literature and art, explaining the roles they played in Roman culture; it deserves to find a wider audience, and Pen and Sword deserve our thanks for making it accessible to a new generation.