I wish everyone read this. They might think twice before buying some of the products that represent a torturous existence and painful and prolonged death for animals.
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a book about radical animal rights activists who break the law in order to free animals. it really interested me in my youth. ( )

An Easy & Enjoyable Read, But Not Much Substance

As an animal rights advocate, I have mixed feelings about both ALF and PETA. While I understand why some people resort to direct action, I'm unsure as to whether it actually hurts the movement in the long run.

Having said that, I found this book to be inspirational, but overall rather bland. "Free the Animals" reads like a novel, but one aimed at adolescents. It's a bit long, but goes quickly, as its writing style is rather juvenile. The story is a moving one, but ultimately I didn't really gain anything by reading it; it's comprised mostly of anectdotes rather than providing a comprehensive overview of animal experimentation (to be fair, it doesn't claim to do so). It was hardly impartial, especially in regards to PETA, as it was written by Ingrid Newkirk (PETA's role in some of the incidents seemed to be over-exaggerated to me).

This book, in my opinion, would make an appropriate gift for a high-schooler who's interested in animals but hasn't yet adopted a humane (read: vegetarian or vegan) lifestyle. I would describe the book's reading level as young adult, and it should be enough to inspire an AR ethic in any concerned animal lover (another good book for this purpose would be "Slaughterhouse" by Gail Eisnitz). However, don't buy this book if you're looking for anything more.

http://www.amazon.com/review/R1CCZMYGGRZBZV/ ( )