12/29/09

More On Eating Animals

John Williams has a point (many points, actually).  I too was puzzled by Foer's never referring to Peter Singer.  Almost as surprisingly, he never refers to Matthew Scully's more "writerly" book about animal issues, Dominion.  If I had to recommend one book on the treatment of animals--especially to someone looking for a "good read"--it would be Scully's book.  It is simply fantastic. Singer and Scully come to mind not just because they're obvious predecessors, but because there's a quality in both of them I missed in Foer.  Williams aptly calls it "forcefulness and clarity of purpose." It's interesting, though, how gracious Singer is about Foer's book in this review... another sign of clarity of purpose?  Eating Animals is going to awaken a new generation of readers to the travesty of factory farming.  It wouldn't make sense to fuss too much.

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