Henry Holt

For the Love Of Animals: The Rise of the Animal Protection Movement

admin — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:01:00 +0000

Most people seem to agree that on some level, animal abuse is wrong. Whether this judgment is applied equally across species, however, is another matter. One hardly has to look further for modern examples of animal rights cognitive dissonance than the public outcry against Michael Vick’s dogfighting ring. Overwhelmingly, the people most outraged are those who also continue to support factory farm systems that abuse cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry, and countless other animals in the name of convenient clothing, beauty products, and meals.

Regardless of how you justify these contradictions—whether or not you participate in the paradox—a book like Kathryn Shevelow’s For the Love of Animals puts the history behind animal rights into perspective. Using her training as a historian, Shevelow begins in seventeenth century England and teases out the nuances of the last few centuries of animal abuse and animal activism. While you may learn a lot of trivia—that, for instance, the word “vivisection” was first recognized in the 1707 Oxford English Dictionary—the content is by no means trivial.

Throughout Shevelow’s comprehensive account, early animal activists like Margaret Cavendish and Richard “Humanity Dick” Martin are introduced and colorful scenes of early London marketplaces are depicted. Like many accounts of gradual revolution, much of Shevelow’s narrative takes place in the streets, where animals were bought, sold, and beaten. Along the way, as animal cruelty in public ran parallel to the rise of domesticated pets, animals were recognized in humanistic ways. Animal performers—that is, dancing dogs and drum-beating monkeys—served to remind people that all living beings are less removed from one another than we’d like to believe. Animals were taken to court for crimes, and many were found guilty and executed. Even more bewildering, stories of “monstrous births” emerged in the early 1700s. While the obsession of women giving birth to non-human animals eventually died down, even these notably strange events proved that the relationship between animals and humans was becoming inextricably complicated.

Shevelow details the heinous attractions of not-so-distant times: cockthrowing and cockfighting, bullbaiting and bullrunning, dog and horse racing, ratting, and hunting with hounds. Though it’s tough to be objective, I’d like to assume that even the most outspoken, animal-hating carnivore might be disturbed by Shevelow’s descriptions. She also documents that even centuries ago, several prominent observers of animal-based amusements were deeply disturbed by what they witnessed.

She additionally makes mention of many contemporary issues in animal rights activism and vegetarian practice. Citing the story of Dr. George Cheyne, who restored his once doomed health by removing meat from his diet, Shevelow offers historical evidence that plant-based diets can have notable health benefits. There is also mention of religious beliefs that indicate souls moving between species. If you belong to a faith that believes in reincarnation, for instance, you’re less likely to kill animals, lest you become one in a later lifetime.

The book ends with the successful founding of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in the mid-nineteenth century. As a history text, this one is thorough and happily ends on a victorious high note.

On the other hand, analysis of contemporary activism and food justice movements only receives a frustratingly short two-page conclusion and lacks a lot of analysis about the current state of animal cruelty in the Western world. Praising the efforts of typical figureheads Michael Pollan, Peter Singer, and PETA’s Ingrid Newkirk, Shevelow seems convinced that consciousness and change has advanced as it should. Maybe that’s why she’s a historian and I’m not. For me, progress can never come quickly enough.

Written by: Brittany Shoot, December 1st 2009

Going Dutch in Beijing: How to Behave Properly When Far Away from Home

admin — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 19:51:00 +0000

By Mark McCrum

Henry Holt

Anyone who’s ever had a formal meal with a native Beijingian will know that it is socially taboo to offer any contributions when the bill comes. In Going Dutch in Beijing, Mark McCrum thoroughly informs his readers of everything local concerning greetings, table manners, and wedding and funeral customs. He expresses intent on preventing offensive behavior for his traveling readers, but thoughtfully goes beyond his purpose. While still informing readers of do’s and don’ts, this book also elicits just how many differences exist between every culture, a variance that is precious in an ever-shrinking global community.

McCrum’s cultural scope varies throughout each chapter; it’s a book that borders on travel guide and intercultural study. Readers will find “pocket-guide” practical information when he dutifully reports the meaning and interpretations of greetings and gestures across the globe (complete with illustrations). However, sometimes his study is so extensive it’s easy to get lost in the details, losing focus on the country in which it’s unacceptable to cross your fingers or how many kisses you’re expected to give when meeting someone. Fortunately, McCrum also provides more clearly organized lists of behavior that will most definitely win you death stares if you’re lucky, and perhaps something far worse if you’re not. For example, he urges readers to never ask for Turkish coffee when they’re visiting Greece and to always make use of the cloakroom at Russian theatres and concerts.

Even though you might never find yourself in a situation where business cards are as much of an extension of yourself as your familial history, McCrum’s information for the business traveler reflects the deeper customs of a culture. The priority of friendly relations before business deals in counties across the Atlantic and the border reveal the importance of family and social time in the lives of most Latin countries. Similarly, the American adage of “if you’re not five minutes early, you’re ten minutes late” is non-existent in many non-English speaking countries where arriving about an hour after the specified time is more expected. Understanding these differences will not only help business travelers in creating a rapport with clients, but can also give folks whose casual Friday is every day clues about the cultural core of a country

While McCrum dutifully reports customs from every nation near and far, Western readers might find the less familiar traditions more entertaining for arm chair travel. For example, don’t ignore beggars in the streets of the Philippines or Arab countries where the greater the benevolence the grander the person and the stronger the faith. Or, if you find yourself in Madagascar during a festival, don’t be surprised if you see the corpse of someone’s relative dancing along with the parade in his or her brand new shroud. McCrum devotedly offers hints for conscious travel on six of the seven continents. It’s a perfect book for the reader who is more interested in proper behavior at a dinner party in Tokyo than where to find the best deal on sushi.

Written by: Sara Custer, June 2nd 2008

Girl Stories

admin — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 16:37:00 +0000

By Lauren R. Weinstein

Henry Holt

A friend once described the experience of being a Smiths fan at age twelve. Listening to the lyrics of “Half a Person”—“Sixteen, clumsy, and shy, I went to London and I booked myself in at the Y…WCA…”—he felt a pang of recognition with that teenager. Precociously morose, he told me, “I felt so old for my age!”

Reading Lauren R. Weinstein’s comics, I feel a similar sympathetic pang – albeit from the far side of sixteen. It makes me think that the ageless adolescence of the sensitive, artistic, somewhat nerdy kid is a permanent state of being. You’re born with it; you never grow out of it.

Most of the comics included in Girl Stories chronicle the adventures and misadventures of “Lauren Weinstein” during her last year of middle school and freshman year of high school. What kind of girl is she? The kind of girl who, in kindergarten, tells all the Christian kids that the existence of Santa Claus is logically impossible. The kind of girl who repurposes Barbies with scissors, markers, and tin-foil outfits, in order to cast them in dramatic tableaux. The kind of girl who believes Morrissey is her guardian angel. In other words, she’s smart, creative, and strange—and so, inevitably, she’s also lonely.

Lauren’s life is shaped by the tension between wanting something and being smart enough to know it’s no good yet wanting it anyways. She wants to be popular and ends up an outcast (at least temporarily). She wants a boyfriend, but he ends up being a lame, skater dude. She wants her bellybutton pierced; it becomes massively infected.

Weinstein’s drawings are textured, exuberant and enjoyably sloppy. She conveys the terrible swiftness with which triumph becomes humiliation and has a keen understanding of the arcane social logic of adolescence. Her comics are at their best when expressing the higher registers of human emotion—anguish and glee.

The other comics collected in this volume are brief funny pieces about being a girl. Of particular note is “Am I fat?” in which Weinstein describes the double-helping of guilt she feels around food: guilt at eating and guilt at how ridiculous it is to feel guilty about eating. After the comic was published, Weinstein’s inbox was flooded with emails, many from girls asking her for dieting advice. Weinstein, devastated, wrote another comic in response pleading with her readers not to obsess over body image: “Imagine what we could do (and how much more fun we’d have) if we just focused on what we loved!”

Written by: Nadia Berenstein, April 29th 2007