It has likely been a year or so since I first heard of Dmitri Belyaev’s and Lyudmila Trut’s project to determine if foxes could be domesticated. Begun in 1959, their research has since brought to light a host of discoveries about the process and effects of domestication, and as well has yielded fifty-six generations of domesticated Silver Fox.

Although Belyaev died in 1985, Trut has continued with the research, and with the publication by University of Chicago Press of How to Tame a Fox (and Build a Dog): Visionary Scientists and a Siberian Tale of Jump-Started Evolution, co-authored with Lee Dugatkin, now tells the story of what she and Belyaev discovered through the decades of their fascinating research.

If you enjoyed reading this, please consider signing up for The Well-read Naturalist's newsletter. You'll receive a helpful list of recently published reviews, short essays, and notes about books in your e-mail inbox once each fortnight.