A maverick scientist reveals the inconsistent and often paradoxical ways humans think, feel, and behave toward animals in this engaging, informative, and thought-provoking book, now newly revised.
Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat is a highly entertaining and illuminating journey through the full spectrum of human-animal relations. Drawing on his groundbreaking research in the field of anthrozoology, Dr Hal Herzog tries to make sense of our complex relationships with animals and the challenging moral conundrums we face regarding these creatures who share our world – and some, our homes.
A blend of anthropology, behavioural economics, evolutionary psychology, and philosophy, updated to reflect evolving attitudes and the most recent findings, Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat is a poignant, often challenging, and frequently laugh-out-loud funny trip through a world of animal rights activists, cockfighters, professional dog-show handlers, veterinary students, biomedical researchers, and more. It will forever change the way we think about other living creatures and, ultimately, how we see ourselves.
Hal Herzog is recognized as one of the world's leading anthrozoologists. He is a professor of psychology at Western Carolina University and lives in the Great Smoky Mountains with his wife Mary Jean.
"Wonderful [...] An engagingly written book that only seems to be about animals. Herzog's deepest questions are about men, women and children."
– Karen Sandstrom, Cleveland Plain Dealer
"A fun read [...] What buoys this book is Herzog's voice. He's an assured, knowledgeable and friendly guide."
– Associated Press
"A fascinating, thoughtful, and thoroughly enjoyable exploration of a major dimension of human experience."
– Steven Pinker, Harvard College Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of How the Mind Works and The Stuff of Thought
"Everybody who is interested in the ethics of our relationship between humans and animals should read this book."
– Temple Grandin, author of Animals Make Us Human
"An instant classic [...] .Written so accessibly and personally, while simultaneously satisfying the scholar in all of us."
– Arnold Arluke, Anthrozoös
"Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat is both educational and enjoyable, a page-turner that I dare say puts Herzog in the same class as Malcolm Gladwell and Michael Lewis. Read this book. You'll learn some, you'll laugh some, you'll love some."
– BookPage
"Hal Herzog deftly blends anecdote with scientific research to show how almost any moral or ethical position regarding our relationship with animals can lead to absurd consequences. In an utterly appealing narrative, he reveals the quirky [...] ways we humans try to make sense of these absurdities."
– Irene M. Pepperberg, author of Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Uncovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process
"One of a kind. I don't know when I've read anything more comprehensive about our highly involved, highly contradictory relationships with animals, relationships which we mindlessly, placidly continue no matter how irrational they may be [...] .This page-turning book is quite something – you won't forget it any time soon."
– Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, author of The Hidden Life of Deer: Lessons from the Natural World
"Hal Herzog does for our relationships with animals what Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma did for our relationships with food [...] .The book is a joy to read, and no matter what your beliefs are now, it will change how you think."
– Sam Gosling, Professor of Psychology, University of Texas, Austin, author of Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You
"This is a wonderful book – wildly readable, funny, scientifically sound, and with surprising moments of deep, challenging thoughts. I loved it."
– Robert M. Sapolsky, Neuroscientist, Stanford University, and author of Monkeyluv and A Primate's Memoir