Stephen Budiansky, formerly U.S. editor of Nature, is currently a writer for The Atlantic Monthly. He is also the
author of The Nature of Horses and If a Lion Could Talk.
Review
"Budiansky's slim, elegant discourse is a persuasive counterweight to the pastoral delusions of sentimentalists
intent on seeing humans as malevolently at odds with the noble animal kingdom."
--Manuela Hoelterhoff, Wall Street Journal
"Forcefully argued and eloquent."
--Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, New York Times
"A subtle look at the mysteries of evolution and a stinging response to animal-rights extremists. . . . Ambrosia
for anyone-whether in agreement with Budiansky or not-who appreciates the beauty of an argument that combines careful
scholarship with common sense."
--Kirkus Reviews
"Budiansky argues his thesis clearly and cogently."
--Daily Telegraph
Yale University Press Web Site, March, 2000
Summary
Animal rights extremists argue that eating meat is murder and that pets are slaves. This compelling reappraisal
of the human-animal bond, however, shows that domestication of animals is not an act of exploitation but a brilliantly
successful evolutionary strategy that has benefited humans and animals alike.
