An intensive but yet fascinating historical reference to the relationship with and domestication of pigs by mankind. I appreciate Pia Spry-Marcques addition of notes and opinions as a side, keeping the books main content technical but allowed a personal connection with the author and understanding of her value of pigs.
Full Disclosure: I was allowed to read a copy of this book for free as a member of NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review. The opinions I have expressed are my own and I was not influenced to give a positive review.

A nonfiction book about everything remotely related to the farming and eating of pigs. I expected from the subtitle and the author's personal background that archaeology would be the main focus, but it turns out that's really only the first two chapters, which cover the Paleolithic hunting of wild boar and the original domestication of pigs. The other chapters turn to topics as diverse as experiments on feeding farmed pigs leftovers from restaurants, the spread of foot-and-mouth disease, a special Spanish ham called ibérico de bellota which can only be fed acorns, genetically modifiying pigs so their manure would contain less phosporus, sunburn in pigs, minature pet pigs, organ donation between humans and pigs, the terrifying tapeworms to be acquired from eating raw pork, why pork is a 'white' meat, how to make sausages, theories on why pork is neither halal nor kosher, the use of an enzyme from pig pancreases in wine production, EU food-safety regulations on traditional pork dishes, Cuba's 'Bay of Pigs', the Pig War between the US and Canada in 1859, and Oliver Cromwell's favorite pig breed. Basically if it has the remotest connection to the title, Spry-Marques has included it. She even includes recipes for each chapter, though some of them are clearly more for amusement than actual consumption – I can't imagine anyone having just finished a chapter on how eating raw pork will give you cysts in your brain is eager to try figatellu, a type of uncooked sausage from France. And it would take a braver foodie than me to taste "Asian-inspired pork uterus with green onion and ginger". In fact, as is probably not surprising for any book which touches on factory farming however briefly, you will probably come away not wanting to eat pork at all for a while.

Spry-Marques's writing is breezy and conversational, which kept me turning the pages even when the structure was a bit scattered. I wish it were more focused, but it's a great book for anyone who enjoys popular science, history, or food writing.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2359429328

This was mildly interesting, and I love good academic work, but although the author gamely tried to insert humor and gastronomy, the book remained extremely dry. The rambling and the lack of structure didn't help, and neither did the final chapter, which -- after an entire book of largely objective science and anthropology -- consists of the author's sudden proselytizing for veganism. I'm sure her personal convictions are heartfelt, but it's pretty sly to spring that on a captive audience who obviously came for the pork.

A truly expansive and revealing look at our relationship with pigs and with pork. An animal though unclean by some and amazingly tasty by others, the author takes us through our complicated relationship with this ubiquitous farm animal.

Until now, I would never have thought that pigs and the meat they provide could have so many different facets for discussion, with each one being capable of being dissected and examined even more closely on several different levels. But thanks to Spry-Marques, I now feel like I have an understanding of the ubiquitous pig that was deeper than I ever would have been able to imagine.

Fans of Mark Kurlansky's "Salt," Andrew Lawler's "Why Did the Chicken Cross the World," and other such micro-histories will definitely have an informative blast with "Pig/Pork."