Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way We Treat Animals

I took this book out of the library just to thumb through it, but decided to read it because it quickly caught my attention. At first, seeing the large color photos and the cartoons, I thought of not taking this book seriously. The book however, is very serious. It's just that the photos and cartoons provide some comic relief to ease the burden of an otherwise extremely heavy read.

This book deals with the real issue of animal rights. It turns out to be a must-read for everyone, even those poeple who do not consider themselves animal activitists, if only to learn the truth of how animals are treated in our society. It is from that point that we can each make our own decisions about how far we will go in allowing this, what we will choose show more to buy, and what we will choose to eat. The author's (and also my own) contention is that we should not remain ignorant nor close our eyes to the suffering that animals endure every day.

The book is heavily annotated with quotes directing us to further reading and also with web sites on which to view videos. I chose not to view the videos as the some parts of this book's text were enough to make me cringe. I will definitely read more about this subject because I feel that I cannot be a part of the solution unless I more thoroughly understand the problem.

I highly recommend this book to animal lovers everywhere as well as those who hope to make our world a kinder, gentler place for all living things. Karen Dawn supports a new, assertive kind of animal advocacy without the scare tactics used by fanatic animal activists. I feel this kind of advocacy will have a much better result in gaining positive public opinion. show less

This is an amazing book!! I actually wanted to read An Omnivore's Dilemma, but the book was unavailable at the library, and then I came across a member's recommendation- and what a read! The information provided is in a friendly format, easy to read, I finished it in 3 days! There is so much suffering out there for animals..the author's intention is to present the facts, and let you decide. Perhaps secretly her intention was also to make you think twice before you eat that steak..although I am not a true vegan, this book made me rethink my choices. This book should be read by everybody!!

This is a book that everybody should read. Karen Down discusses pets, furs and a lot of other topics. The cruelty with which we treat the animals is unbelievable.
The 386 pages are too much to immediately comprehend so my recommendation is to read one chapter a day. But do read it! Even if this book does not turn you into a vegetarian, it will enlighten you and make you react on the way we treat animals.

As a Swede, I do hope that animals are treated better in Sweden, but I am not sure about that.