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The Inner World Of Farm Animals: Their Amazing Intellectual, Emotional And Social Capacities (2009)

by Amy Hatkoff(Favorite Author)

4.3 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

1584797487 (ISBN13: 9781584797487)

languge

English

genre

Food & Cookbooks

publisher

Stewart, Tabori and Chang

review 1: I cannot sufficiently extol the contents of this book. I’ve read so many animal books over the years, but this one presents a truly unique perspective. The photos are exquisite. The information provided is important. The book is truly inspirational. It’s full of happy stories of animals living in sanctuaries and therefore living lives normal for them, and it was disturbing only when I considered (which I couldn’t help thinking about) how these animals are normally treated.I received this book as a birthday gift by a long time friend of mine; she happens to be a friend of the author. I’d had this book on my to-read shelf, as it was recommended to me by a Goodreads friend, but had not realized that it was written by a woman I knew very slightly over three decades ago... more, having her in my acquaintance because of this mutual friend. I can say honestly that my rating and review are not influenced by my very brief acquaintance with the author. In fact, I know my review will not do justice to this amazing book.Here’s the table of contents: Forward (by Jane Goodall)IntroductionChapter One: ChickensChapter Two: Geese, Ducks, and TurkeysChapter Three: CowsChapter Four: PigsChapter Five: Sheep and GoatsAfterword (by Wayne Pacelle, President of the Humane Society of the U.S.)What You Can DoSanctuariesResources (Organizations, Books, For Children and Educators (Classroom Materials, Videos for Children, Books for Children and Youth), Bibliography)AcknowledgmentsPhoto CreditsI have to start out by saying that the photographs of all the animals are incredibly beautiful and particularly wonderful because the personality of each animal shines through. If there wasn’t such interesting information in the book, this could work as a coffee table book because of its beauty.I cannot get enough of this type of information, especially when it’s given in a way that isn’t horrifying, and these animal’s stories are basically happy ones. The information about various species of farm animals is given simply and straightforwardly. These are very personal stories which touch the heart and that make one think, at least that’s the hope. The horrors of factory farming are only alluded to, barely mentioned, so I can recommend this book to everyone, not just vegans or those interested in animal rights.I wasn’t necessarily expecting to learn anything new, although I knew I probably would, but I was just happy to read something that would validate my current feelings and beliefs. However, I learned quite a bit more than even I’d expected.I was particularly intrigued with how sheep can recognize sheep from their own flock when viewing photographs and the effect that has on them, and there were so many more tidbits like this of information new to me.This book is engaging, heartwarming, uplifting, and also devastating because the reader can’t help but be aware of the quality of life and ultimate fate of the vast majority of these animals. However the stories here are not at all depressing because they’re primarily about animals living in conditions that allow them to have their natural behaviors.There are lots of vignettes of the lives of animals living in sanctuaries, quotes from many other books, quotes by and mini interviews from those in the animal welfare and animal rights movements, most from sanctuary workers who know the animals as individuals.This book is suitable for vegans and vegetarians and omnivores. It doesn’t push a strong vegan message (although of course that’s how I saw it) but the What You Can Do section gives a variety of actions people can take to improve the lives of animals, and eating fewer or no animal products is not given a more prominent place than other options. Even if this book doesn’t change the way every single reader looks at what’s on their plate, it will hopefully make them more able to empathize with our fellow creatures.Anyone who’s ever known and loved an animal of any non-human species (dogs, cats, etc.) will probably enjoy this book, and I’d love for the few people I know who have no affinity with animals to read it, because I think it would change the way that they think and feel.This would make a great gift book for both adults and older children. It’s a gorgeous book.Many of the books in the resources section and bibliography I’ve not yet read or put on my to-read shelf, so I’ve got to rectify that situation: onto my unwieldy and unrealisitc to-read shelf they’ll go. I’m pleased to see that my city’s public library has this book; I was going to request that they buy it. However, a portion of the profits from this book goes to animal protection organizations, and it’s simply a lovely book to own, so I recommend buying a copy for yourself and copies to give as gifts also. I treasure my copy.And Lydia, a marvelous turkey, my favorite sanctuary animal ever, makes an appearance in this book. She was very friendly and loving.
review 2: Absolutely phenomenal photographs abound. Intensely cute stories about adorable animals are scattered among the photographs. Among those are short narrative blurbs describing the results of various studies showing that these animals are smart, sociable, have feelings, learn, and are generally all around awesome. It's a powerful arguement for veganism, or at the very least "humanely raised" farm animals. I found myself wishing for more substance but I did enjoy this. less

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