Book Description
In Defense of Animals: The Second Wave brings together the best current ethical thinking about animals. Edited by Peter Singer, who made "speciesism " an international issue in 1975 when he published Animal Liberation, this new book presents the state of the animal movement that his classic work helped to inspire.Long hailed as a brilliant and controversial philosopher, Singer has assembled incisive new articles by philosophers and by activists. In Defense of Animals is sure to inform and inspire all who want to understand, or contribute to, the unfolding moral revolution in the way we treat animals.
Customer Reviews:
Right argument, perhaps the wrong person arguing.......2007-10-11
I have thought for several days about posting this review, but in the end I felt I could not remain silent. The ethical treatment of living beings is something my wife and I believe in very strongly. You do everything in your power to give those beings in your care a comfortable, fulfilling life be they animal or plant. Every day we grapple with the fact that for us to live we must destroy others, and we do not take this fact lightly. So when someone comes along with the powers of persuasion and the well constructed arguments Mr Singer has you tend to embrace the book, and say, "see this is what I meant."
The problem is that Mr Singer also justifies the killing of human infants if they have some kind of "grave physical abnormality" like hemophilia. Mr Singer does not consider these infants "persons" because they do not have a sense of their own future; but the same argument could be made about the animals he is supposedly trying to save. A calf has no sense of its future, and it knows nothing about running and gamboling outside if it has never done it, so by extending Mr Singers arguments even the cruelest forms of producing veal is justifiable.
The eugenics movement of the last century advocated the improvement of the human race by castrating or eliminating the physically and mentally imperfect. Mr Singer has taken the stand that it is justifiable to kill the imperfect to make room for the, supposed, perfect. A concept Adolf Hitler took to its terrible limits.
I just find it sad that a movement as important as animal rights should have as one of its major voices a man who would have no philosophical problem killing me sixty year ago, or my grandson two years ago. You can kill a bleeder because they aren't really a person, but don't you dare kill a chicken.
In the future.......2007-01-16
I think Peter Singer is right in the battle to protect the animals. He shows in the book why is necessary the men change his mind .
Contents:.......2004-03-20
Articles and essays from different people like philosophers, biologists, activists and lobbyists. Here you learn first hand accounts of the stories that have made headlines around the world...the plight of the Silver Spring laboratory monkeys, the freeing of the Island of the Dragon dolphins, the successful campaigns against the Draize and LD50 tests, extinctions of species, and confinement of animals in farm factories and zoos.
Book Description
Committed is a bold, offbeat, globe-trotting memoir that shows how the most ridiculed punching bag in high school became an internationally renowned crusader for the most downtrodden individuals of all -- animals. This irresistibly entertaining book recounts the random incidents and soul-searching that inspired a reluctant party boy to devote his life to a cause, without ever abandoning his sense of mischief and fun.
"Everyone has a tense moment in their career that makes them wonder, how the hell did I get into this mess?" writes Mathews. "For me, it was when I was dressed as a carrot to promote vegetarianism outside an elementary school in Des Moines, and a pack of obese pig farmers showed up and peeled off slices of bologna for kids to throw at me." As the irreverent force behind the colorful crusades carried out by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), one of the most effective and enduring pressure groups in the world, Mathews has strutted naked before a fur convention in Tokyo, halted GM's use of animals in crash tests by storming the carmaker's float in the Rose Parade dressed as a rabbit, and crashed a fashion show in Milan dressed as a priest. With self-deprecating wit and candor, Mathews reveals all the edgy details of his unorthodox coming-of-age and equally outrageous career.
With backdrops such as the rock scene in Hollywood and London, the inner sanctums of New York high fashion, jails in Hong Kong and Boston, and a psychiatric ward in Paris, Committed spotlights the adventures life can offer when you don't abandon your youthful ideals and imagination.
Customer Reviews:
Inspiring and fascinating read.......2007-10-09
This book was so much more than I expected! I was interested to learn more about the life of a PETA insider, with this book I got that but also so much more; reads like a really fun and wild novel. Dan Mathews tells the fascinating story of his life with laugh out loud humor and eye popping detail. Makes me want to go out for drinks with him and learn more. Definely recommended for anyone desiring to read a great book - not just for us crazy vegans. ;-)
I miss you Dan, love Bruce.......2007-08-28
You don't have to be Animal Rights militant to love PETA or Dan Matthews. The book is entertaining, funny, and all the while gently establishes for the reader what PETA is about and why we are now the perpetrators of the greatest crimes in history... cruelty to Animals.
I was friends with Dan in Washington D.C. in 1984 when he was just a receptionist at PETA but all the while talked about animals in a way that I had never heard of before. I will never ever forget his incredible energy, sense of humor, while remaining steadfastly dedicated to a cause that is his passion. He is a brilliant activist because he uses his personal passions to drive him... from street theatre to direct action, to pulling together albums and fashion campaigns. I learned a great deal from him.
I was a LAZY vegetarian eating fish and eggs often and now Dan has helped me to realize that I am spiritually and physically a vegetarian and will not ever take torture and cruelty into my body again.
Thank you for writing the book Dan, every moment reading it was a treat.
Bruce
I can't put it down.......2007-08-02
This wonderful guy is not only a hero to animals but he's a very talented writer....amoung other things.
Listen....if you're committed to helping animals and want to get friends or family to come over from the dark side & stop supporting the animal killers, THIS is the book to get them. There's not a boring sentense in the entire book.....it's fun & interesting. One page and they'll be hooked.
Hey....I'm back here to order several more copies....EXCELLENT WORK DAN!
Laugh out loud activism.......2007-07-23
I read Committed while I traveled, and embarrassed myself by throwing back my head and cackling loudly on crowded airplanes. I was not only amused, however, I was inspired and reinvigorated by Dan's raunchy and glamorous tales of his fight for animal rights. I gave this book to all my friends. Gay friends especically adored it because Dan is so out there. But while the book has a fun, trashy side, it is not trash. Mary Matalin and James Carville threw Mathews a book party. Apparently, when a reporter asked Matalin why, she responded, "Good man, good cause, good book. Let's party!" Perfect!
Write another book Dan!.......2007-06-09
I would have finished reading this book in one day if I did not have to work...instead it took me five days. This is a fasinating biography that reads easily...plus it is really funny! I applaud Dan for knowing what he wanted to do early in his life and for sticking to it for all of these years. He gives us inspirational stories and comical insights into his personal life that are fun to read. I'm ready for your next book Dan!
Customer Reviews:
A wonderful female detective.......2006-08-19
You will want to read all three mysteries featuring Hannah Wolfe, a hip, intelligent young London private investigator. They are very well written and very up-to-date, not at all stodgey. In "Fatlands" Hannah is not happy about some demeaning jobs she gets through the detective agency, such as babysitting the wives of mideastern oil princes while they shop at Harrod's. When she has to escort a young girl named Mattie, the boring job becomes a big case leading Hannah to investigate strange happenings in the modern scientific hog raising industry. You won't be eating bacon or ham for a while after reading this mystery. Full of danger, romance, and a very original plot, this is a very exciting mystery, and you will just love Hannah Wolfe.
Edgy Investigator.......2005-09-29
Hannah Wolfe is an irreverent soul with a caring side that gets her into trouble as a simple assignment gets complicated.
It's amazing that the author is so good at creating many wonderful characters and so many different types of books. Read her Birth of Venus as well as Mapping the Edge.All of her main characters are gutsy women that are great fun to know.
A great, female detective in London.......2000-08-25
I love this series. I am primarily a mystery reader, and this is a series for those of you who are looking for something new must try. Hannah Wolfe is tough yet feminine and real. This is a great series for those who enjoy a good mystery that is not too cosy or hard boiled. Hannah is sort of a free-lance detective in London, but she travels all over. She is human but never a pathetic victim. Unlike many mystery authors today, Dunant never lets the stories get too dark in order to seem real. This is the second in the series with the first being Birth Marks. I recommend this series for those who might also like Anna Lee from Liza Cody. Hannah matures with each new installment and I'm waiting for the fourth.
Crime fiction at its best!.......2000-03-26
Private detective Hannah Wolfe is not too pleased with her newest job -- chaperoning rebellious teenager Mattie Shepherd around London for a day. Mattie was supposed to spend the day with her father, a scientist and workaholic who calls Hannah to babysit so he can finish up some work. Mattie resents her father for deserting her, and takes her feelings out on Hannah. Their day is already off to a bad start when Mattie is killed by a bomb that has been planted in her father's car. Who's the culprit? Animal rights activists, Mattie's boyfriend, or someone else entirely? It's up to Hannah to deal with her own feelings of guilt over Mattie's death and then to find Mattie's murderer. What at first seems to be a deceptively simple case turns out to be a much larger puzzle. Sarah Dunant's writing is crisp and clear. Her protagonist, Hannah Wolfe, is witty and liberal. Her definite attitude enlivens the story, making Fatlands a highly readable, and highly recommended, book.
Book Description
The first anthology of writings on the history, ethics, politics and tactics of the Animal Liberation Front, Terrorists or Freedom Fighters? features both academic and activist perspectives and offers powerful insights into this international organization and its position within the animal rights movement.
Calling on sources as venerable as Thomas Aquinas and as current as the Patriot Act—and, in some cases, personal experience—the contributors explore the history of civil disobedience and sabotage, and examine the philosophical and cultural meanings of words like "terrorism," "democracy" and "freedom," in a book that ultimately challenges the values and assumptions that pervade our culture. Contributors include Robin Webb, Rod Coronado, Ingrid Newkirk, Paul Watson, Karen Davis, Bruce Friedrich and others.
Customer Reviews:
Taking action for the animals.......2007-07-01
In this day and age, and especially in this country, where the words "freedom" and "terrorism" have become inextricably linked, "Terrorist or Freedom Fighters, Reflections on the Liberation of Animals" is a sobering reminder of who it is that has never been free and never will be free as long as human ignorance and greed exists.
I probably like many thousands or even millions of people are aware of the atrocities committed on animals, but who always kept those thoughts buried because our culture believes that humans have dominion over the animals. Dominion maybe, but with that power comes an incredible responsibility to care for them and see that they are treated with respect and compassion.
Certainly the mere fact of being a meat eater or wearing any sort of leather clothing would have to invoke some sort of thought regarding the processes whereby animals are turned into a meal or clothing. It doesn't take much of an imagination to envision this action even for some of us with the least creative of imaginations.
The arrogance of the human race is on full view in "Terrorist or Freedom Fighters and editors Steven Best, PhD and Anthony J. Nocella, II assemble a who's who in the animal and environmental rights movements to provide a collection of essays that call attention to the need to liberate animals from the hands of those who would torture, maim, kill and pervert them for sake of human proliferation and superiority.
The reader is given a glimpse into the origins of the radicalized animal liberation movements in both the UK and the US. A group calling itself "Bands of Mercy" began in Britain in 1972. Formed by Ronnie Lee and Cliff Goodman the group took its name from a 19th century youth wing of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA). Their mission was simple, to take direct action against the deadly practice of fox hunts calling it "active compassion." After being arrested and imprisoned in 1974, Lee and Goodman split up in 1976. Goodman decided to take the legal route to animal liberation but Lee knew better. It was time for a revolution. Together with the remnants of the "Bands of Mercy" and two dozen new recruits, Lee formed the "Animal Liberation Front"(ALF). It wasn't until six years later that America got its own "Animal Liberation Front," its first direct action being the liberation of over thirty cats from the labs of Howard University.
None of the essays are gratuitous in their depiction of the horrors committed on animals - but the few words that do describe how we as humans treat animals provide compelling evidence of why direct action by groups such as the ALF is necessary.
Other essays cover everything from why direct action is necessary or unnecessary, the use "consequent anger" from a review of methods employed by St. Thomas Aquinas, to the comparison of ALF to the Jewish resistance movement of World War II and Abolitionist movement during the 1800's.
Some essays are anonymous such as one from the Western Wildlife Unit of the ALF talking about "what a handful of warriors can do" and what they must do. Others are personal such as the essay by Rod Coronado an ALF member. Written with passion and emotion, Coronado gives an account of his direct actions and his subsequent encounters with the FBI.
Perhaps the most disturbing and for me, most depressing, is the last essay by Best himself entitled, "It's War! The Escalating Battle Between Activists and the Corporate-State Complex." It details for us what only few know or even want to know - how our liberties have been eroded for the sake of security, empiricism, jingoism and corporate interest. And I can see how we as Americans have bought into it. Best says, "a new civil war is unfolding-one between forces hell-bent on exploiting animals and the earth for profit whatever the toll, and the activists steeled to resist this omnicide tooth and nail." It was at this point in the book that I began wondering if the guys who took action in the Boston Tea Party were rolling in their graves.
Best describes the steps the government has taken in clamping down on anyone who even utters "a discouraging word" against it. Indeed it seems as though the skies in America are "cloudy all day." He defines the government's definition of terrorism and gives ample example as to why anyone with the slightest intention of standing up for the animals, or the planet or anything for that matter, needs to think twice and then think again. I for one was extremely appreciative of this chapter.
This book, no, this handbook, is a must read for anyone who has even the slightest intention of standing up and speaking out for the liberation of all animals. It is a primer for the cause of animal liberation and the direct action that is needed to meet that end.
When George W. Bush uttered those famous words, "you're either with us or against us" little did he realize that he was speaking on behalf of the ALF and other groups whose mission is one of compassion for all animals, to take direct action in liberating a species who knows all too well what it's like to be on the short end of the stick.
best book on animal liberation .......2006-10-02
After anyone reads this book they will look at radicals with logic, reason, and a compassionate heart. This book, more then any other animal rights book from Animal Liberation by Singer or The Case for Animal Rights by Regan, stands far above them all. While at the same time all of those books are outstanding and must be read. The anthology approach of gathering many people together to write on an important topic should be done on all critical topics, bravo Best and Nocella. I now know so much more about different viewpoints and a strong stance to debate the use of direct action.
Superb!.......2006-09-01
Terrorists or Freedom Fighters is a revolutionary conglomeration of individual viewpoints regarding the Animal Liberation Front. The book is not only thorough in its historical coverage, it includes the voices of many individuals, female and male, academics and activists, young and old.
Before one can make a value judgement concerning the ALF, she/he should be required to read this book, which explians the mindset and the psychological reasoning that fuels such radical actions as economic sabotage. Wonderfully organized and put together.
Outstanding Philosophy Book .......2006-08-03
With more than 20 authors from around the world, this book examines, theorizes, and professes, an outstanding concept, animal liberation in action. From academics to activists finally a book about the Animal Liberation Front - ALF. The ALF is an international nonviolent underground organization that has been around since 1976. This book should be a recommended read for every environmental and philosophy class. It is well edited and organized. If you enjoy stories, theory, philosophy, animal advocacy, or revolutionary struggles, you must read this book.
wonderful.......2006-05-30
this book is amazing. with essays from people of all sorts of standpoints it allows you to make your own decision about the Animal Liberation Front. I bought this book off of Amazon.com and i have read it at least four times, everytime i read it i enjoy it more than the last.
Book Description
"Francione cogently argues that the Animal Liberation Movement, though using rights rhetoric and espousing the eradication of animal exploitation, actually represents a new, self-defeating welfarism because its tactics embody the animal welfare position. Consequently, the plight of animals is worse than it was twenty years ago." —Choice
Customer Reviews:
Crucial for Animal Rights Advocates.......2002-07-07
If you have embraced the idea that all sentient beings have fundamental rights--particularly the right not to be used exclusively as a resource--and have made the step to advocating on their behalf, this is the most important book you will ever read on the subject. Gary L. Francione's _Rain Without Thunder: The Ideology of the Animal Rights Movement_ literally woke me up and gave me the resources I needed to avoid the seriously harmful strategy of animal welfare and new welfare. Before reading it, I took part in "bigger cages" campaigns, thought that such advocacy was helpful in the short term and had a very strong desire to continue to do so. After reading Francione's extremely compelling theoretical arguments, empirical evidence and well evidenced practical implications of different advocacy methods, I had no choice but to reject welfarism and new-welfarism in favor of a clearly defined concept of animal rights. In a nutshell, Francione's central thesis in _Rain Without Thunder_ is as follows:
In everyday language with respect to human animals, the word "welfare" has very good connotations. However, in the areas of _law_ and _institutional policy_ with respect to non-human animals, words like "welfare," "humane," "care," "unnecessary suffering," and so on only mean _one_ thing. Namely, they mean that the interests of non-human animals will be protected only to the extent necessary to exploit them in an economically efficient manner. For example, in law and policy, the welfare of a pig not to starve is protected because it is necessary to feed the pig in order to get her or his meat. The same is necessarily true of every animal welfare law and regulation. Therefore, any advocacy that attempts to achieve animal rights and the abolition of animal exploitation in the long-term by using the supposedly short-term strategy of trying to pass welfare regulations achieves only _one_ thing. Namely, if those measures are implemented, it will be further ensured that the only interests of non-human animals that will ever be protected are those that are required to exploit them efficiently. In other words, the supposed "success" of implementing a welfare measure only further ensures that the interests of other animals that are not required to exploit them efficiently will *always* be violated in the most abhorrent ways imaginable. In short, welfare measures *only* harm non-human animals and never help them.
Again, before I read Francione's arguments and evidence, I found his claim to be counter-intuitive. If this describes your views on the subject, for the sake of non-human animals who are exploited everywhere, I urge you to read and seriously consider _Rain Without Thunder_. Francione offers an excellent practical alternative to welfarist advocacy that, if followed, will further the rights of other animals on a workable *incremental* basis. As an animal rights advocate, I am extremely grateful that this book exists.
A Must Read!.......1999-12-01
This book is a must read for anyone who considers themselves a supporter of animal rights. Francione powerfully argues that the animal rights movement has spiraled down into a animal welfare movement--a movement that has failed horribly in the past. Please read this!
Important book for the modern animal rights activist........1998-09-21
In "Rain Without Thunder," Francione discusses the emergence of "new welfarists" who are doing the animals more harm than good. He meticulously lays out why animal welfare cannot lead to animal liberation. And argues a need for change. This book is a must read for all animal rights activists. Unfortunately you won't see it carried by mainstream "animal rights" (which GF calles the "new welfarists")organizations, because it is much too controversial!
An important and controversial book for animal activists.......1997-04-22
Rain Without Thunder is a penetrating look at howanimal rights activism without a clear understandingof important philosophical differences between animal rights and animal welfare has led to ineffective strategies which, Francione argues, serve only to more deeply entrench the speciesist paradigms that lead to animal oppression. Francione's insights are important not only for animal rights activists, but for everyone working for social justice. The first truly original animal rights book I have seen in a long time. Read it!
Only if you have trouble sleeping........1996-10-28
First, this is a book for the anointed. Those who don't
already think cows deserve personhood need not bother;
there's absolutely nothing here that will convince you.
For anyone left: Written in wandering, equivocal academic
speak and crushingly redundant, this is a book that took
230 pages to say what could have been said in ten, and still
failed to say much at all. Synopsis:
"Animals are persons, too. `Mainstream' animal rights groups
aid animal `exploiters' because
they still behave as if animals are, well, animals.
'Mainstream' animal rights groups are also sexist because
they only throw red paint on women. We must demand an
immediate end to institutionalized animal use. We'd be silly
to expect an immediate end to institutionalized animal use.
We must demand incremental changes within the `all animal
use must end' paradigm. I don't know how, but let's talk."
Unless you'd like to give this book to someone too
comfortable with the state of higher education -
Mr. Francione is a law professor at Rutgers - I'd strongly
suggest you save your money.
If you must read it, take mine. Please.
Book Description
Straw Dogs is an exciting, radical work of philosophy, which sets out to challenge our most cherished assumptions about what it means to be human. From Plato to Christianity, from the Enlightenment to Nietzsche, the Western tradition has been based on the belief that humans are radically different from other animals. Taking inspiration from art, poetry, the frontiers of science, and philosophy itself, John Gray argues that the belief in human difference is an illusion and offers instead a post humanist view of the world. Straw Dogs is an exhilarating, sometimes disturbing, book that explores how the world and human life look once humanism has been finally abandoned.
Customer Reviews:
interesting thesis but not well written.......2007-07-30
i feel like i want to agree with John Gray, because i am an atheist, a sceptic and a naturalist; and i don't consider myself a humanist. maybe the rating of a review shouldn't be about whether the reviewer agrees with the thesis or not, but about whether a book is well-written or not. if that's is the case, then this is not the sort of book i expect coming from an LSE professor. in my opinion, the book maybe at the level of a good master's dissertation or a below-average PhD thesis. the two main reasons are: 1. Gray hasn't done any original research, proposed any original idea, nor any coherent alternative view; 2. He merely collects quotations of other sources. i am especially critical of the latter. almost every other page has a quotation from a book or an article. i doubt that Gray himself allows his undergraduates to submit essays written in this form. having an interesting idea alone is not enough. (the three-star is given for the reasons i write above)
now back to his thesis. i feel that very often, we are asked to accept something 100% or to disagree with it 100%. i agree with Gray's anti-humanism almost fully. he attacks almost every field of knowledge, thoughts, industries, etc human beings have ever achieved. but still we are no different from other species. even this, i can almost agree. it seems that Gray's arguments are rational, eventhough he attacks rationalistic ideas as well. however, a quick observation of the natural world suggests that we are a special kind of animal. the simple fact that Gray can write a book exploring our own thoughts regarding our positions in the natural world may suggest there is something unique to the human species. what seems to be unique to our species is that we can think about thinking, and we are conscious about consciousness (however tenuous consciousness is).
i am not suggesting anything supernatural and i don't want to go near any religious prejudices of human's unique status. but i am not so sure Gray has dealt with this question satisfactorily; namely, despite all what Gray claims seem to be correct, the obvious appearance is that even if we are animals, we are unlike any other species. i am not saying this just because i happen to be a member of the species. i do believe that if ETs were observing us, they would find that human beings are by far very unique compared to other species. if history is meaningless and we are unable to control our destiny, and if Gray is completely correct, our delusions are also completely natural and animalistic; why attack outselves for that?
i still think Gray is correct. however, the unfortunate thing for us is that we are that species ourselves. what are we to do? now the truth has been hammered to us, we can't formulate a new delusion to cover our past delusions. should we just read Gray, agree with him, and then just forget about it and continue with our deluded ways?
(3-star for a not-well-argued thesis; 4-star for an interesting idea; 5-star for making us more lost than ever)
Straw Dogs.......2007-03-11
The book came from England quickly and the dealer emailed me courteously to tell me it had shipped
Doomsday is coming unless we change.......2006-10-14
Only 199 pages yet I wanted to underline every word. So many wise assessments on the human race and its avariciousness, stupidity and recklessness during the miniscule time it has occupied planet Earth. The synopsis of John Gray's book is that if we continue with our ego-centric attitude and destructive acts on this planet there will be only one survivor, and it won't be the human race. The planet has its protective mechanism and we will go the way of the dinosaurs.
The enemy of my enemy?.......2006-06-29
Forget "Mere Christianity". This is the single greatest apologetic work of our time. John Gray ruthlessly demolishes the myth of progress and secular humanism without a religious foundation. Atheists think that they can reject God and the Christian heritage and still find meaning in their lives and the pursuit of truth through science. Think again. Truth, as John Gray argues, is divine. Once you give God up, to be consistent and to avoid cognitive dissonance you have to give up EVERYTHING associated with the idea, including truth, freedom, happiness, love, justice and all the rest. This is what the world looks like without God, folks. Stop fooling yourselves.
We cannot make the world to be for us........2005-10-13
It is over a hundred years since Darwin revealed to us our animal lineage, and yet the human primate is still having difficulty coming to terms with its animal origins. All bar creationists may indeed now accept that we are descended from apes, but most of us still cling to the belief that we have somehow become different to the rest of the animal kingdom. Our ability to use language and reason, to see ourselves as selves, selves that move forward in time and, with other selves, progress by building a culture based on moral rules and a technology that seems to give us ever increasing control over our environment. Surely this is enough to set us apart from the rest of nature? No. Thankfully, a British philosopher who lives and breathes today but who speaks with the depth and clarity of a modern day Schopenhauer is here to rid you of this delusion.
Human beings are still animals claims Gray, but the more profound insight that he delivers, and that his critics seem unable to grasp or admit, is that humans, and even whatever intelligence that might emerge in a 'posthuman' future, will always be inescapably rooted in the natural world as much as the lowliest of slime molds.
We believe that language and reason are what differentiates us, forgetting that we acquired these abilities through the blind mechanisms of evolution. This means that they are, as Hume, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche declared long before Darwin, mere tools in the brutish struggle for survival. These same tools enabled the human animal to create the illusions of free will, self and morality and the delusion to think that with these, man has the ability to stand apart from the animal world and choose his own fate. But the fundamental import of Darwinism is that it tells us that 'we' were 'made' for the world. The world was not made for us, nor can we ever make it, nor indeed any world, to be for us.
Some rather simple-minded criticisms of Gray's outlook are floating around the Internet, including on this page, so lest they deter you from reading this book, here are a few brief rejoinders that can be made to them.
1/ 'Gray teaches us nothing new. Postmodernism has been around for 40 years now.' Gray clearly isn't giving just another rehash of postmodernist thought. In fact his book is a savage attack on some of the postmodernist thought that has now been neatly incorporated into liberal thinking. The belief that the world is entirely a social construction, that this construction is determined by power relationships and that therefore by changing those power relationships society can mould the world into whatever form it chooses. The way that humans see the world may indeed be due to power relationships within society, but these arise because of the fact that humans are biological animals in an inherently competitive natural world. Postmodernism is, as Gray says, 'just the latest fad in anthropocentrism'.
2/ 'Gray criticises science as a faith but seems to hold Darwinism as a faith.' Gray is primarily attacking the faith that scientific progress leads to moral and social progress. If anything is right in science it is the broad theory of Darwinism. Yet people believe that science can enable man to take control of his destiny, when one of the most fundamental tenets of modern science teaches us that science and its consequences (as with any other sphere of human activity) is ultimately determined by the same laws that govern other animals' behaviour.
3/ 'No-one seriously believes in progress anymore'. Well the western world is without doubt led by two men who wholeheartedly believe in the vision of moral progress, as we are seeing with disastrous consequences in Iraq. As both have been re-elected as their heads of government, presumably a lot of the people who voted for them share that vision. The idea that western society is not still dominated by the belief in moral progress is absurd. A generation ago homosexuality was illegal and homosexuals were routinely sent to prison. Today, someone can be sent to prison for simply arguing that homosexuality is wrong. For this to be the case, society clearly has a conviction that the moral attitudes of today are without question a progression on the attitudes of yesterday. To give a different example, on the 10th of September 2001 not one person in a hundred could have believed that America would soon be holding a serious debate on whether or not to legalise torture.
It goes without saying that I found Straw Dogs to be an utterly rewarding intellectual experience. Read it and it may change the whole way you look at the world...though probably together with a feeling that, like all great writers, Gray has articulated for you something profound that you always suspected about the world.
Book Description
Animal rights. Those two words conjure diverse but powerful images and reactions. Some nod in agreement, while others roll their eyes in contempt. Most people fall somewhat uncomfortably in the middle, between endorsement and rejection, as they struggle with the profound moral, philosophical, and legal questions provoked by the debate. Today, thousands of organizations lobby, agitate, and educate the public on issues concerning the rights and treatment of nonhumans. For the Prevention of Cruelty is the first history of organized advocacy on behalf of animals in the United States to appear in nearly a half century. Diane Beers demonstrates how the cause has shaped and reshaped itself as it has evolved within the broader social context of the shift from an industrial to a postindustrial society. Until now, the legacy of the movement in the United States has not been examined. Few Americans today perceive either the companionship or the consumption of animals in the same manner as did earlier generations. Moreover, powerful and lingering bonds connect the seemingly disparate American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of the nineteenth century and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals of today. For the Prevention of Cruelty tells an intriguing and important story that reveals society’s often changing relationship with animals through the lens of those who struggled to shepherd the public toward a greater compassion.
Customer Reviews:
The book every lover animal should read.......2007-08-23
There has likely never been a time when the words "animal rights activism" have elicited a stronger reaction from both sides of the stockyard fence. But do we ever stop to consider how this movement began? Who were the first proponents? What were their early successes - and failures? Moreover, what can we learn from the past to gain victories for animals today?
For the thoughtful insights into these issues and more, treat yourself to Diane Beers' "For the Prevention of Cruelty: The History and Legacy of Animal Rights Activism in the United States." Beers, a professor of history at Holyoke Community College in Massachusetts, has done what a writer within the animal-rights movement probably could not: given us a narrative that is at once a straightforward, authoritative account of the origins of animal rights activism and a compelling critique of the movement's triumphs and missteps from 1866 to 1975.
Animal activism, it turns out, is nearly as old as the word "vegetarian." Both sprang from England in the middle of the 19th century - one as a way to better define a culinary choice and the other to defend those caught in the crosshairs of humanity's hunger for scientific advancement, reliable transportation, momentary amusement and animal flesh. Exploring long-forgotten files in dusty broom closets in her pursuit of history, Beers unearths a remarkable story. Some of her discoveries are no surprise, such as that the founders of animal activism were mostly women. Yet others are downright revelatory. Who knew, for example, that activists convinced the Ringling-Barnum and Bailey Circus to stop using animal acts for five years?
The author introduces us to many of the compassionate individuals who helped forge the early movement - people like Ella Wilcox Wheeler, Anna Harris Smith and Henry Bergh, whom Beers describes as "the dynamo of American animal advocacy." But it is Caroline Earle White who leaps from the pages as the most inspiring and vocal activist of the 19th century. A passionate crusader, White helped create the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in 1867 and later founded the Anti-Vivisection Society of America.
The ideological struggle between reform and abolition for animals was palpable as activists in the 20th century battled groups formed to promote animal exploitation, confronted the tragic confluence of shelters and medical labs and organized against factory farming. Animal activism has now matured from what detractors once regarded as "a fringe cause dominated by hysterical, primarily female sentimentalists" into a growing concern for millions of ethically minded Americans.
If "For the Prevention of Cruelty" were simply a history of animal rights activism, it would be an indispensable work, both for its social commentary and as a chronicle of humane action. But the author takes the subject a step beyond, inviting readers to consider the impact of factions within the movement coming together with environmentalism to form a powerful, united coalition for animals and the planet. We have the work of early activists to thank for what we're able to accomplish today, and we have Diane Beers to thank for a skillfully written account that brings to life their efforts on behalf of the voiceless.
Mark Hawthorne, author of
Striking at the Roots: A Practical Guide to Animal Activism
Animal Rights in an historical perspective.......2007-07-13
Diane L. Beers puts animal rights and the various movements that delt with and continue to deal with the abuses of animals in historical perspective. Her book is about a movement but also shows how that movement fit into the fabric of American life. Beers clearly shows how animal rights activist changed the morality of America regarding the treatment of Animals. But they did not always speak as one unified group.
As evidenced by the national sorrow and concern after the injury and death of Barbaro last year, America has come a long way from the 19th Century when work horse were routinely abused. She shows how the various factions of the movement worked together and sometimes against each other.
One of the important aspects of the book is how she demonstrates the ways in which pressure groups have used thier political power to prevent better treatment of animals.
This book has a powerful message over and above the important things it says about the history of the animal rights movements. It also shows how public opinion can be changed. It shows the importance of women and their imput into this movement. Unfortunately, it was not until post WWII America that women had positions of power, but it is still important to show how women changed America. With the roots of women's activism in the Abolitionist Movement and thier progression into temperance and peace, middle class white women made significant difference.
For the animal rights lover and the the historian, this book makes a major contribution to the literature on this subject. It also provides an important historiography of the subject pointing out what other historians have said.
Animal rights have come a long way. Their is still a need to go futher. Many law schools are now teaching classes on Animal Rights. The recent movie about Noah's Ark points out that no animals were abused in the making of that movie. Many products are advertised and free from animal experimentation. Such aspects of current life can all go back to the early movers and shakers in the animal rights movement.
We have come a long way, but need to go further to stop dog fighting, dog racing, abuses of animals in slaughter houses and also the slaughter of horses for European markets.
This work only takes the reader to 1975. Hopefully Beers will continue to story.
History of Movement Much Needed!.......2007-06-27
Diane Beers' book gives current activists important perspective on the animal protection movement, its history, successes and failures, and provides tools and information for the work ahead. This is a fantastic read and I highly recommend it.
A must read for animal advocates.......2007-03-25
Reading some basic history of animal advocacy, one might be left with the impression that nothing of significance took place before the publication of Animal Liberation in 1975/ the work of Henry Spira. For The Prevention of Cruelty is a nice counter to those notions and highlights the advocacy prior to the publication of Animal Liberation -- advocacy that started shortly after the Civil War and whose leaders were steeped in the push for abolition, women's suffrage, etc.
The book is accessible and fascinating. Being involved in animal advocacy, it's heartening to know how deep our roots are, to see today's advocacy as part of a long-standing tradition, to know what has worked in the past and what has failed. Highly recommended.
A MOST Important Book.......2006-12-18
I saw Diane speak at a conference and was blown away. When she introduced her book and outlined its contents, I couldn't believe this story hadn't been told before. I can safely say I think this is one of the most important books to be published - not only for the animal protection movement but for all social justice causes. Diane is an eloquent writer (and speaker), creating an interesting narrative that would interest anyone who's ever adopted a dog or a cat, given money to their local SPCA, or who works on behalf of the voiceless. I highly recommend this book!
Book Description
A compelling and revolutionary work that calls for the immediate extension of our human rights to the great apes.
The Great Ape Project looks forward to a new stage in the development of the community of equals, whereby the great apes-chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans-will actually receive many of the same protections and rights that are already accorded to humans.
This profound collection of thirty-one essays by the world's most distinguished observers of free-living apes make up a uniquely satisfying whole, blending observation and interpretation in a highly persuasive case for a complete reassessment of the moral status of our closest kin.
Customer Reviews:
good collection.......2002-05-20
"The Great Ape Project" is a good collection of reasons for supporting the project of the same name.
Tearing down the walls that divide.......2000-10-09
This book is an excellent source of information provided by a variety of scientific and legal experts. The authors show us the rich emotional and cultural lives of non-human great apes. Researchers who use other apes because of their genetic and psychological complexity ought to be required to read this book. Indeed, the one flaw of this book is the fact that a few chapters are the works of researchers who have used, for example, the linguistic talents of other apes to advance their own careers. Other sections of the book, including a chapter vividly comparing the non-human and human slave trade, and a description of the case for legal rights based on the personhood of hominids, underscore that flaw with haunting and brilliant sensitivity.
Overall, The Great Ape Project lucidly demonstrates the unconscionability of continuing to use the other apes for experimentation, for teaching, for trade in their body parts, and in the entertainment industry. Moreover, it inspires us to broaden our definition of slavery to include our nearest living relatives.
Compelling Case for Sentience Rights.......1999-07-06
The contributors make a compelling case for sentience rights for higher primates based on strong empirical evidence and demonstrable harm caused to other higher primates that infringes on their rights claims as sentient beings. I would ask if the authors might consider a similar work that expands the case for cetacean rights on the same basis, though.
Well written and fascinating.......1999-05-16
The essays in this book are remarkable and well done. A very important work for the animal rights movement. I did find it a little repetitive at times, but this did not detract from the point of the book, to make us aware of how closely related great apes really are to us, and their capacity to communicate in a human language.
Fascinating.......1997-04-22
I have to admit, our family's copy of the Great Ape Project sat on the shelf for a few years before I got around to looking at it.I had deep reservations about the book, fearing that it would lead to a reinforcement of anthropocentric criteria for moral standing.However, once I started reading I was hooked. The huge number of contributors with many different viewpoints ranging from rather anthropocentric to radical animal rights make for a lively read. In addition, the book is chockablock full of fascinating information about the great apes--they really are more similar to us than even I, an animal rightist for years, would have thought possible. A challenging book that raises the questions: what does it mean to be human? And how can we justify treating our fellow great apes the way we do?
Book Description
Radical environmentalism and its progeny, "eco-terrorism," is a modern phenomenon. It is a movement far removed from the elite conservationists of the late 1800s and the mainstream environmental groups that emerged later. Drawn from the same pool of concerned individuals who comprise memberships in groups like Greenpeace, the Sierra Club, and the Wilderness Society, disaffected environmentalists have turned from political lobbying to direct action in the form of widespread property destruction and other types of crime and terror. Here, the author exposes the activities of radical groups determined to make their mark in the movement to protect the earth and its creatures from those they view as predators. He covers the major groups as well as less well-known ones and provides a careful portrait of who they are, what they do, and how to address them. The growth, from the 1980s through the present day, of organizations involved in eco-terror is noticeable and significant. Such groups have caused millions of dollars worth of damage throughout the country. The FBI estimates that the ALF/ELF have committed more than 600 criminal acts in the United States since 1996, resulting in damages in excess of $43 million. Tactics include pulling up survey stakes, tree-spiking, arson, and other methods. Most groups will claim responsibility for their actions, just as other types of terrorist groups will take responsibility for theirs. Eco-Terrorism takes an objective look at the most radical groups and their terrorist activities in the United States, including case examples and analysis of the methods and rhetoric the groups employ. It uncovers the losses both to individuals and the community as a result of these methods, and it describes the ideologies, motivations, history, and activities of the political movements that have been labeled environmental terrorism.
Product Description
Guided by a revolutionary spirit, Capers in the Churchyard offers a fresh examination of conduct within a movement that has historically focused on the conduct of others. While noting the contradictions between the acts and claims of high-profile activists who strike the militant pose, Capers in the Churchyard uncovers the thinking under a spectrum of human ways of regarding the use of other animals. This lively and agile analysis will appeal to anyone interested in the dynamic of ethical movements, especially those hoping to define the advocates best role in addressing the urgent questions of our age.
Customer Reviews:
A "Mental Adventure".......2006-09-14
Capers in the Churchyard: Animal Rights Advocacy in the Age of Terror is a swift read, but a long mental journey. I feel the same sentiments as Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson when he writes in the book's foreward, "[The author, Lee Hall] thinks further than I have thought about certain areas, and I am thrilled to be able to follow her on this extraordinary mental adventure." Indeed, while reading the book, I was introduced to ways of thinking that are different from anything I have ever read in the literature, or heard at the conferences I've attended.
In this thin volume, Hall explores what the philosophy of animal rights was, is, and could potentially be. In Hall's view, the modern animal rights movement is actually an animal welfare movement in masquerade. For instance, the term `humane slaughter' is just as ironic as the idea that thousands of animals can be freed from cages each year only to be replaced by more animals in those very cages.
In a nutshell, Hall writes that "the guiding principle here isn't to help [animals], but to aspire not to interfere." If animals were not interfered with in the first place, they would not be subject to exploitation. The most basic step one can take to stop interfering with animals is to stop consuming animal products. The cessation of other interferences will soon follow. Essentially, Hall's vision is for the animal rights movement to become "the most comprehensive peace movement ever known."
One of the most striking points in the book is the idea that graphic images of animal exploitation serve to promote animal welfare not animal rights. The fact is we shouldn't need these graphic images to tell us all the horrors of animal use. All we need to know is that animals are being used against their will. And that is wrong.
Overall, of course, Hall denounces violence (unto other animals, unto other humans, unto ourselves, and unto the environment we all share). I fell right into stride with Hall on this idea. For those of us who don't feel we fit in with the passiveness of animal welfarists nor the violence of other activists, and who strictly oppose the exploitation of other beings, we have a comrade in Lee Hall.
A Valuable Look at Methods of a Movement.......2006-09-04
(Originally posted on SuperVegan.com)
Recent headlines bring news that attacks on laboratories by animal rights extremists in Britain have declined by as much as fifty percent in the past year. The reasoning for this is certainly complicated, but most definitely interesting to consider for those active in the animal rights movement. Shedding light on the issue of terrorism and animal rights is Lee Hall's new book Capers in the Churchyard: Animal Rights Advocacy in the Age of Terror (Nectar Bat Press, July 2006), with an introduction by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson. Hall is the current legal director for the group Friends of Animals and authors the column, "Movement Watch."
While the book seems to meander between many topics in a somewhat unstructured manner, many of the topics take head on issues within the animal rights movement most are too cautious to approach. The subtitle of the book speaks to the larger issue on the minds of many as the terms terrorist and animal rights activist are all too commonly linked in the minds of those in government and the media. Though tactics such as boycotts, protests, and undercover investigations are by no means terrorist acts, other acts committed by certain groups and individuals with the clear intent of invoking fear, and arguably terror, in particular individuals to promote an animal rights agenda are causing this connection, an issue to which Hall's book speaks. By looking at the Newchurch, England campaign against a family-run farm where guinea pigs were breed which took place over a six-year span from which the book takes its title, as well as others, Hall questions some of the contradictions of the tactics of more aggressive campaigns.
Additionally, much of the controversy for Lee Hall comes from the reoccurring disagreements within the movement between the welfarist vs. abolitionist mentality. For example, the discussion of the use of birth control by the state to control the population of wild horses has brought divisive lines between the campaign work of groups such as Friends of Animals, arguably abolitionist, and the Humane Society, arguably welfarist. Hall writes, "The welfare group's agreement to add another layer of control over the animals without disturbing their valuation as resources distinguishes animal welfare management from an animal-rights approach." This is not to say that all of the topics addressed are boiled down to a polarity between these points, however it is clearly an issue of great contention and Hall addresses the issue on many different fronts throughout the book.
The book is a good read for those looking to examine tactics within the movement and consider what the larger implications of these campaign tactics may be beyond the particular campaign and how it may be perceived by those outside the movement. Though it's hard to imagine handing someone on the street the "Handy Pull-Out Guide to Animal Rights" and having the reader understand what it is we as a movement really want to happen and how, the point that the movement should have something so straight forward and handy is not lost. Book such as Hall's cause those of us within the movement to take the time to examine in what direction we are going and how best we might achieve the ends which we seek to achieve.
HOPE FOR THE FUTURE OF ANIMAL RIGHTS.......2006-09-02
This is absolutely the best book ever written on animal rights, what works and what does not. I rarely get speechless, but I don't know where to start (or stop) praising Lee Hall for outlining the path we must follow to achieve true abolition of humanity's custom of enslaving any beings defined as non-human.
But Capers in the Churchyard is much more than that. To quote Hall, "The advent of animal rights philosophy would mean the most comprehensive peace movement ever known. Not only would it turn swords into ploughshares; it would dedicate those ploughshares to an agriculture of peace."
I finished the book at 3 am --it was a page-turner. I just couldn't put it down. The book is really hard to discuss in detail within the confines of a brief summary, because every word of it deserves discussion. This book will clear away the convoluted notions that proliferate within the advocacy community. It will allow the reader to appreciate the simplicity and effectiveness of nonviolence. I plan to use it as a topic amongst animal-rights discussion fora; it will be my leading reference book.
Lee Hall is hope personified.
Chris Kelly
An almost masterpiece.......2006-08-16
Caper's in the Churchyard: Animal Rights in the Age of Terror is an almost masterpiece. I say almost because the book ends just where it needs to begin.
Hall's book is so powerful and convincing in its analysis of the modern day animal rights movement that you'd be hard-pressed to find any glaring errors; she takes on the whole movement, and many of its Sacred Cows, to make the point that there really barely IS a rights movement; in the United States, at least, it's about welfare, not rights, and much of the sheer stupidity exhibited by many of those in positions of power and visibility within the movement do nothing more than mock the movement as a whole.
Much of this book is about violence, and how brutality in any of its manifestations is completely antithetical to animal rights. That's the part of this book that is stunningly brilliant. Hall minces no words in taking to task the multitudes who argue violence as a necessary form of direct action of behalf of animals. Hall instead argues that animal rights, by its very nature, is a peace movement. She is passionate, articulate and persuasive in making the case.
This book should be required reading for every person involved in the Animal Rights/Vegan community.
But I do have a complaint: Lee Hall does one heck of a job deconstructing the mess that is Animal Rights, but what she fails to do (and to be fair, doesn't attempt) is to outline what the movement could or should be. For me, this is a glaring omission. After feeling very inspired by her words, I found myself feeling very lost, too. Where do we go from here?
That said, this book impacted me more than any other book on the subject that I've ever read. Period. I'm crossing my finger's that Hall becomes a louder voice in a community full of loud-mouths---people who are more interested, it seems, in being provocative, shocking and offensive than in changing the course of public opinion.
Read this book. Please.
Compelling and thought-worthy.......2006-08-07
"[I]f any domination is reinforced so is the whole culture that's based on hierarchy and that teaches hierarchy," writes legal scholar and animal advocate Lee Hall, in Capers in the Churchyard: Animal Rights Advocacy in the Age of Terror. Released July 2006, Hall's book is essentially about domination and subordination (primarily of nonhumans, but also of human animals) that has become pervasive throughout the animal rights' movement.
Drawing a compelling comparison between the non-abolitionist sector of animal rights' activists-that is, those who do not ask for nonhuman animals' complete freedom-and those who use violence to attempt to achieve the end goal of animal rights, Hall's work states that neither of these groups believe true animal freedom can be achieved in our lifetimes. And that, apparently, is enough to give up on the goal of even working towards it.
Hall challenges those who believe violence works, asking, "Copying the activities of war-makers or soldiers forcing people to behave or not to behave in certain ways-this perpetuates the daily social control by some authoritative force. Other people are not the enemy of animal rights; if there is an enemy at all, it is the tendency to depersonalize them." In other words, violence has been the mainstream for so long that peace would be the truly revolutionary change.
Both participating in violent solutions and working towards getting animals' bigger cages are ways of working within the system. What we need is a radical change where hierarchies are abolished, whether that means man over woman, white over black, or human over nonhuman.
Does throwing a flower pot at a bunch of clerks or digging up a grave really work if our end goal is to eliminate hierarchies and the violence that contaminates them? Hall, and writer-psychologist Jeffrey Masson, who authored the book's foreword, do not believe so. Indeed, Masson writes, "I have an old and very strong opinion about emotions: they cannot be forced." Masson than goes on to say the best method for convincing others is persuasion. After all, if a person truly changes how he or she is thinking, he or she can convince others of what he or she has learned. "If he merely desists out of fear, he will not carry any kind of message to others, but will feel resentment, which is sure to find expression is some different act of cruelty."
Masson and Hall ask us to think seriously about the best in activism and how to model a completely new idea for others who might have never thought about it. When our own diets and our whole lives stand for treating others with respect, we are in the best position to convince others we're on to something big. -L.Long
Books:
- Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History
- Jamestown: A Novel
- Jesus of Nazareth
- Just for Mom Calendar 2006
- Kayaking Puget Sound, the San Juans, and Gulf Islands: 50 Trips on the Northwest's Inland Waters
- Land Of The Giants Cl
- Life on Matagorda Island (Gulf Coast Studies)
- Light Microscopy in Biology: A Practical Approach (Practical Approach Series)
- Linear Models for the Prediction of Animal Breeding Values (Cabi Publishing)
- Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- The Rommel Papers
- The Intention Experiment: Using Your Thoughts to Change Your Life and the World
- The Book of Lost Tales, Part One
- The Essential Australian Shepherd
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- The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time
- The Abominable Snowman/Journey Under the Sea/Space and Beyond/The Lost Jewels of Nabooti/Mystery of
- Molecular Biology Made Simple and Fun, Third Edition
- Romanov Autumn: Stories from the Last Century of Imperial Russia
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Ethics & Morality
| Philosophy
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Animal Liberation
Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy
The Case for Animal Rights
The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter
Animal Rights: Current Debates and New Directions
