Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: For the Prevention of Cruelty

Subtitle: The History and Legacy of Animal Rights Activism in the United States

Author: Diane L. Beers

Narrator: Dana Brewer Harris

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 52 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-29-17

Publisher: University Press Audiobooks

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Animal rights. Those two words conjure diverse but powerful images and reactions. Some nod in agreement, while others roll their eyes in contempt. Most people fall somewhat uncomfortably in the middle, between endorsement and rejection, as they struggle with the profound moral, philosophical, and legal questions provoked by the debate. Today, thousands of organizations lobby, agitate, and educate the public on issues concerning the rights and treatment of nonhumans.

For the Prevention of Cruelty is the first history of organized advocacy on behalf of animals in the United States to appear in nearly a half century. Diane Beers demonstrates how the cause has shaped and reshaped itself as it has evolved within the broader social context of the shift from an industrial to a postindustrial society.

Until now, the legacy of the movement in the United States has not been examined. Few Americans today perceive either the companionship or the consumption of animals in the same manner as did earlier generations. Moreover, powerful and lingering bonds connect the seemingly disparate American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of the 19th century and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals of today. For the Prevention of Cruelty tells an intriguing and important story that reveals society's often changing relationship with animals through the lens of those who struggled to shepherd the public toward a greater compassion.

Published by Ohio University Press.

"Destined to become a classic in its field." - Publishers Weekly

"Diane Beers's history of animal advocacy in the United States is illuminating, authoritative, and highly readable." - J. M. Coetzee

"An insightful look at an imperative movement." - Booklist

Members Reviews:

Excellent read

I gave this book a five star rating, because it was very eye opening to the struggles that occurred to allow animals to be treated as they are now. I highly recommend every animal lover to read this book.

The book every lover animal should read

There has likely never been a time when the words "animal rights activism" have elicited a stronger reaction from both sides of the stockyard fence. But do we ever stop to consider how this movement began? Who were the first proponents? What were their early successes - and failures? Moreover, what can we learn from the past to gain victories for animals today?

For the thoughtful insights into these issues and more, treat yourself to Diane Beers' "For the Prevention of Cruelty: The History and Legacy of Animal Rights Activism in the United States." Beers, a professor of history at Holyoke Community College in Massachusetts, has done what a writer within the animal-rights movement probably could not: given us a narrative that is at once a straightforward, authoritative account of the origins of animal rights activism and a compelling critique of the movement's triumphs and missteps from 1866 to 1975.

Animal activism, it turns out, is nearly as old as the word "vegetarian." Both sprang from England in the middle of the 19th century - one as a way to better define a culinary choice and the other to defend those caught in the crosshairs of humanity's hunger for scientific advancement, reliable transportation, momentary amusement and animal flesh.