You Can Save the Animals: 251 Simple Ways to Stop Thoughtless Cruelty [Paperback]

Ingrid Newkirk (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 27, 1999

Every day, in labs, food factories, and industries around the world, animals by the millions are subjected to inhumane cruelty. The good news is that you can do something to help stop it. This inspiring book shows you how.
In You Can Save the Animals, Ingrid Newkirk, cofounder and president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), gives you hundreds of simple acts of kindness that can help stop animal abuse today. You will be amazed at how much of a difference you alone can make in the lives of the most innocent among us.
Inside, you'll learn how to:
·Buy from companies that don't test on animals or use animal ingredients
·Switch to clothing and cosmetics made without cruelty
·Change public opinion
·Eat healthfully and compassionately
·Put pressure on industry and government leaders
·Avoid films in which animals were harmed
·Adopt animals from a local pound or shelter instead of supporting pet stores
·Make safe travel arrangements
·And much, much more!

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Newkirk, cofounder of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), has written the definitive book for those who care about the treatment of animals. She exposes institutional cruelty by discussing such topics as animals in entertainment or used as food, for sport, and in clothing. She covers dissection in schools, companion animals, and animals used in experimentation. Newkirk ends each chapter with a list of actions, ranging from personal choices that the average person can make to stop animal suffering (boycott Proctor & Gamble, wear nonanimal fabrics, take plant-based estrogen drugs rather than Premarin) to public actions (demonstrate at rodeo events, protest traveling animal acts, be a hunt saboteur). This book belongs in all libraries and can be used to educate children and young adults about the plight of nonhuman animals in our society.APeggie Partello, Keene State Coll. Lib., NH
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

/Read the Transcript from Ingrid's Chat on Borders.com

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Prima Lifestyles (January 27, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761516735
• ISBN-13: 978-0761516736
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,305,678 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ingrid E. Newkirk, 56, author of the book Making Kind Choices (St. Martin's, January 2005), is founder and president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the largest animal rights organization in the world.

Her campaigns to promote cruelty-free living have made the front pages of The Washington Post and other national newspapers. She was named a top business people of the year in Forbes magazine, and has been profiled in The New Yorker and twice in People Magazine. She has appeared on The Today Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Larry King, Politically Incorrect, Crossfire, Nightline, 60 Minutes and 20/20 among others and enjoys a lively debate and the opportunity to show how easy it is to make animal-friendly choices.

Newkirk has spoken internationally on animal protection issues, from the steps of the Canadian Parliament to the streets of New Delhi, India, where she spent her childhood. She is the author of numerous opinion pieces and articles on the social implications of our treatment of animals and helped to pass the first anti-cruelty law in Taiwan. She is currently campaigning to end the live flaying of lambs for Australian Merino wool.

Ms. Newkirk served as a deputy sheriff; as a Maryland state law enforcement officer for 32 years; she has been director of cruelty investigations for the second oldest humane society in the U.S.; and serves in an advisory capacity on numerous animal protection boards. In 1980, she was named Washingtonian of the Year, and has since received many other accolades and awards, including a 1995 Courage of Conscience Award, a 2001 Animal Protection Hall of Fame Award, 2002 Living Legacy Award and 2004 Activist of the Year Awards.

Ingrid Newkirk achieved the passage of legislation to create a spay/neuter clinic in Washington, D.C., coordinated the first arrest in U.S. history of a scientist on cruelty to animals charges and helped pass into law the first anti-cruelty law in Taiwan. She spearheaded the closure of Department of Defense underground 'wound laboratory,' and has initiated many other campaigns against animal abuse, including ending General Motors' crash tests on animals.

She is the author of several other books, including 'You Can Save the Animals!', 'PETA's Celebrity Cookbook' and '250 Ways to Make Your Cat Adore You.'

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A terrific (and heartbreaking) eye-opener., April 24, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: You Can Save the Animals: 251 Simple Ways to Stop Thoughtless Cruelty (Paperback)

Newkirk combines rare qualities: true passion and the ability to communicate that passion thoughtfully and inspiringly. Put simply, Newkirk takes the viewpoint that it's cruel and immoral to treat animals as though they feel no pain and have no needs or desires outside of what humans wish for them. That such an idea is even controversial is pretty sad. But whenever someone believes something strongly and unquestioningly, cynics spring up. Here, in the face of overwhelming proof that many animals suffer needlessly and extravagantly, the arguments of those who disagree seem particularly weak and ill-informed. Happily, Newkirk here manages to convey her considerable intensity without bogging down in theory or rhetoric. The book is peppered with lots of simple, real-world things that animal lovers can do -- avoiding pet stores that sell animals, for example -- though most seem sadly unlikely to make more than a whisker of difference. Better are the many heartbreaking real-life stories of people who have suddenly realized that animals can reflect the best of what it means to be alive. One hunter shoots a buck and approaches, wondering why the doe hasn't run off. He discovers that the doe is blind. Examining the dead buck more closely, he notices a worn-away patch on his hip and a corresponding patch on the doe's shoulder -- obviously, the buck had lead the doe through the forest. And chose not to run, rather than abandon his blind mate.

At least hunters and anglers have the courage to confront the animals they encounter. Newkirk's at her outraged best when cataloguing the unspeakable conditions endured by animals most of us never see, and thus never consider. The cheeseburger that looks so harmless in its polystyrene box probably represents a nightmare life of confinement and terror. What others dismiss as "preachy" or "dogmatic" doesn't come off that way in the face of the overwhelming evidence Newkirk presents that animals are consistently treated horribly by the food, fur and medical industries.

Hey, I know from experience that people hate hearing this stuff, and react angrily and defensively from the mere suggestion that they put some thought into their behavior and its consequences. So I don't expect this book to win many friends or convert many carnivores. But that doesn't mean I'm not thrilled and moved and sad and inflamed and delighted and inspired by a book that, I hope, will be better understood and more widely acted on in the future.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eye-Opening enlightment, September 30, 1999

By 

slimflem - See all my reviews

This review is from: You Can Save the Animals: 251 Simple Ways to Stop Thoughtless Cruelty (Paperback)

This book is a must read. I just got it in the mail last night and by this morning, I have already read half of it. I have turned my life into a vegan eating practice and I strive to maintain this same state in all I do. Always having a soft spot for animals, this book reminded me of that and opened my eyes even wider to countless and thoughtless acts of cruelty against our fellow animals. There were some points, in what I have read already, where I had to stop for a moment and get my composure after reading how some of the animals are treated. I will recommened this book to anyone who expresses concern and wants to help our friends as well as carry this knowledge with me.

Thanks for a great book.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You Can Save the Animals, January 24, 2000

By 

Sandra G. Faison - See all my reviews

This review is from: You Can Save the Animals: 251 Simple Ways to Stop Thoughtless Cruelty (Paperback)

I couldn't put this book down. I'm not normally a big reader. I took my kids to the library and happened to see it...thought I would skim it over. Not only did I read it cover to cover IN ONE DAY...I'm taking ACTION. I love animals and thought I was pretty compassionate. Nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to read. I can't believe, especially in the U.S, that animals are treated in such a manner. You HAVE GOT to read this book. It will change how you live!