In Defense of Animals: The Second Wave

“Paul McCartney once said that if slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian. This book continues Peter Singer's important, urgent project of turning these walls, one by one, to glass. The essays alert us to the holocaust that continues in farms and laboratories; a holocaust that most people ignore - not because they are bad people, but, perhaps, because the horror of what we do to animals is too big to contemplate. … The wonderful essays in this book remind us that any form of humanism must respect all sentient beings, and that a culture that can create workers who can bear listening to the screams of the "animals" they kill … and that can also create people who are prepared to look the other way and enjoy the spoils of the whole endeavour - is a culture that is not only cruel and deluded, but well primed for the next human holocaust.” The Independent on Sunday

"Peter Singer’s writing changed my life. I have waited for this book for a long time, a quarter of a century in fact. What an exquisite collection of fine writers with compelling philosophies, philosophies that translate into positive ways to change society and one’s own daily life for the better.” Ingrid Newkirk, President, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)

“A survey of the new wave of philosophy, science, and action in the cause of animals. The theoretical essays give a masterly overview of the field, while the essays on animal-rights activism are engaging and full of good sense.” J. M. Coetzee, Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, 2003

“Take your fork out of that animal on your plate, and sit down in a comfortable chair and read this book instead. Essential reading for anyone who cares deeply about the lives of animals.” Jeffrey Masson, author of The Pig Who Sang to the Moon

"I welcome the era when overwhelming, unconscionable cruelty is not longer the outstanding feature of people's interactions with animals. The books under review facilitate that era's arrival." Peter S. Wenz, Social Theory and Practice