Product Description

Described by Jeffrey Masson as the single best introduction to animal rights ever written, this new book by Tom Regan dispels the negative image of animal rights advocates perpetrated by the mass media, unmasks the fraudulent rhetoric of humane treatment favored by animal exploiters, and explains why existing laws function to legitimize institutional cruelty.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #643775 in Books
• Published on: 2005-08-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

From Publishers Weekly
According to this friendly but uncompromising manifesto, "being kind" and "avoiding cruelty" to animals is not enough. Regan proscribes instead a strict regime of "animal rights," forbidding any exploitation of animals whatsoever-for food, clothing, entertainment or even medical research of great benefit to humans. Regan, a leading philosopher in the animal rights movement, intends the book as a popular companion to his scholarly treatments of the subject. Animal rights activists are, he asserts, "Norman Rockwell Americans," not violent zealots, and while he describes a number of animal rights conversion experiences ("nothing else existed, just the elephant's gaze...looking through him"), his target audience is the unpersuaded "muddler" who needs step-by-step convincing to follow this path. He argues that all animals capable of caring about what happens to them-mammals, birds and (maybe) fish-are "subjects-of-a-life" and therefore on an equal moral footing with humans. The philosophical underpinnings of Regan's analysis are not overly rigorous, his treatment of counter arguments is sometimes impatient and exasperated, and his sentimentalization of animals ("our culture teaches us not to see hens like Penny and Sweet Pea as distinct individuals") can seem cloying. The real force of his appeal comes from his exposés of the heinous cruelty meted out to animals in factory farms, mink ranches, hunting preserves, dolphin shows (they're not having fun, they're desperate for fish) and research labs. Outrage sometimes gets the better of him ("is there no limit to the depths of betrayal to which we humans can sink?"), but many readers will experience equally visceral reactions.
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Review
"Tom Regan delivers a searing indictment of the way we treat animals in the world we have made for ourselves, and presents a trenchant case that animals have or should have rights in the same way that human beings have." - J. M. Coetzee, winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize for Literature; "The book you are holding in your hands is, in my estimation, the single best introduction to the topic of animal right ever written." - Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson; "Tom Regan is the Tom Paine of animal rights, the rational visionary who, while passionately defending the rights of man, no less passionately defends the rights of animals. His contributions are historically unprecedented." - Paul Watson, co-founder of Greenpeace, founder and president of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society; "This book will define the future vitality and growth of the animal rights movement for generations to come. If you want the full story about animal rights, you must read Empty Cages." - Kim Stallwood, president, Institute for Animals and Society; "A clearly written, eloquent argument." - Jim Motavalli, editor, E: The Environmental Magazine"

Customer Reviews

Taking the Place of Animal Liberation
Tom Regan has made his name through relentless philosophical rigor. However, Empty Cages is not written in the style of The Case for Animal Rights. In Empty Cages, Regan pulls out the core his philosophical argument and infuses it into a public friendly form. This book is written for the general public and is highly accessible. It is meant to speak not only to the animal rights faithful, but to those who have not fully considered the issue.

Among the highlights of this book is Regan's story about his personal relationship to animal rights. Regan tells of how his current views evolved, and in doing so empathizes those who have yet to make the move to animal rights. Regan's none judgmental style will make this work a remarkably effective tool in spreading the message of animal rights. Indeed, I believe Empty Cages can and should replace Singer's Animal Liberation as the flagship introduction to the movement.

If you're unsure about the merits of animal rights then read this book.

Those of us who already believe in animal rights need to put this book in the hands of friends, family, co-workers, and local libraries.

the best intro. to what animal advocates believe, & why
This is a truly exceptional, and excellent, book. It is the best introduction to ethics and animals issues out there. Regan explains how he came to believe that animals have moral rights that make it wrong to eat, wear and experiment on them, and how he became involved in the growing movement to advance that cause. The book is really like no other; check out the book's companion webpage at http://tomregan-animalrights.com The book is highly readable and accessible, unlike a more standard strictly philosophical (and academic) discussion of the issues.

Taking the place of Singer's 'Animal Liberation'
I honestly can not think of a book that I have enjoyed more than this one in my lifetime. I am already an ARA, but I think this book is written in a way that it would be a perfect choice for someone asking the question, "What exactly is animal rights, and what do animal rights activists want us to change?'
Clearly and non-condescendingly written and thought provoking, this book might just change your world-view. Buy this book today.
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