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172 reviews for:
Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It's So Hard to Think Straight About Animals
Hal Herzog
3.78 AVERAGE
172 reviews for:
Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It's So Hard to Think Straight About Animals
Hal Herzog
3.78 AVERAGE
I totally agree with Herzog about people's inconsistent thinking being something we can't truly get around.
Unfortunately, Herzog's writing was painful for me and largely unscientific. The book is mostly anecdotes and armchair-philosopher-type thoughts. In the first chapter he discussed how we have to take scientific studies with a grain of salt because of biases that can creep into the presentation or confounding factors, but then he presents tons of studies' findings as fact without mentioning how they could be/are not necessarily reliable. And THEN he presented tons of contradictory anecdotes, trying to prove points about things, and not recognizing those contradictions. It was too much sometimes, especially on gender differences in feelings about animals where he kept saying women tend to be more sensitive but then also showing tons of his male friends who are sensitive. I get that there is a difference between statistics and anecodtes; does Herzog?
All in all I was hoping for a book that presented more findings of studies, or maybe case studies from the author (it sounds like he's done some interesting research and the cockfighting chapter seemed like the best researched for sure). What I got was a jumble of anecdotes with random findings thrown in seemingly haphazard. Definitely agree with another reviewer that his style was too buddy-buddy for my taste. The weird thing is that I agree with Herzog's final conclusion that people are simply full of contradictions. I just wish he had gotten there in a more studied way rather than telling me such a crazy number of anecdotes.
Unfortunately, Herzog's writing was painful for me and largely unscientific. The book is mostly anecdotes and armchair-philosopher-type thoughts. In the first chapter he discussed how we have to take scientific studies with a grain of salt because of biases that can creep into the presentation or confounding factors, but then he presents tons of studies' findings as fact without mentioning how they could be/are not necessarily reliable. And THEN he presented tons of contradictory anecdotes, trying to prove points about things, and not recognizing those contradictions. It was too much sometimes, especially on gender differences in feelings about animals where he kept saying women tend to be more sensitive but then also showing tons of his male friends who are sensitive. I get that there is a difference between statistics and anecodtes; does Herzog?
All in all I was hoping for a book that presented more findings of studies, or maybe case studies from the author (it sounds like he's done some interesting research and the cockfighting chapter seemed like the best researched for sure). What I got was a jumble of anecdotes with random findings thrown in seemingly haphazard. Definitely agree with another reviewer that his style was too buddy-buddy for my taste. The weird thing is that I agree with Herzog's final conclusion that people are simply full of contradictions. I just wish he had gotten there in a more studied way rather than telling me such a crazy number of anecdotes.
I finished this book as a matter of principle more than anything else. I was determined to finish it, so I did.
In my opinion, the book deserves a solid three stars. It wasn't despicable enough for me to put it down, but it certainly wasn't a page turner, and I disagreed with some of the rhetorical moves Herzog made (such as defining some terms while leaving the reader to guess others, and unnecessarily repeating information). Beyond that, the language is extremely colloquial (he even throws in some hard language here and there), which slightly undermines the credibility of the author.
The discussion, while well-balanced, was unsatisfying. He spent time arguing both sides of particular scenarios, without really coming to a conclusion. Of course, that might have been the point-- "these questions are fun to think about but too hard to answer." Insofar as answers, I gained nothing from this book; Herzog spent too much time on middle ground. I did, however, glean a few random facts about people and animals that may one day come in handy. The book also forced my to think more deeply about my own relationship with animals, though I was not swayed to make any changes.
All in all, the book is good for a once-through, but not much more than that.
In my opinion, the book deserves a solid three stars. It wasn't despicable enough for me to put it down, but it certainly wasn't a page turner, and I disagreed with some of the rhetorical moves Herzog made (such as defining some terms while leaving the reader to guess others, and unnecessarily repeating information). Beyond that, the language is extremely colloquial (he even throws in some hard language here and there), which slightly undermines the credibility of the author.
The discussion, while well-balanced, was unsatisfying. He spent time arguing both sides of particular scenarios, without really coming to a conclusion. Of course, that might have been the point-- "these questions are fun to think about but too hard to answer." Insofar as answers, I gained nothing from this book; Herzog spent too much time on middle ground. I did, however, glean a few random facts about people and animals that may one day come in handy. The book also forced my to think more deeply about my own relationship with animals, though I was not swayed to make any changes.
All in all, the book is good for a once-through, but not much more than that.
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Very interesting overview of anthrozoology. The only consistency in humans' treatment of animals is our inconsistency. Learned a lot in a very entertaining way. If you're looking for a good non-fiction book, check it out!
An interesting look at the psychology about why we think about animals the way we do.
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Writing this review later because this book stuck with me more than I expected it to? Definitely altered my perspective in terms of how I think about animal issues.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty
Moderate: Animal death
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
funny
informative
reflective
slow-paced
I grew up in a hunting and fishing family. I always had pets growing up and I love a delicious steak. My parents raised their own beef cow for a few years and we always named the cow the same thing “Kenmore” or sometimes just “Freezer.” I used to own and plan to again own chickens for eggs and meat. I currently own a dog I would run into a burning building to save and who I buy a Christmas stocking for every year. I spend more a year on my dog’s medicine than I do my own. So Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It’s So Hard to Think Straight about Animals, by Hal Herzog was a great read for me. If you are going into this book looking for a way to combine and justify your love of “Fido” or “Fluffy” and your love of the Big Mac, this book is not for you. It does not have the answers, but in spite of that this was an excellent read. It was well researched, containing 4 pages of suggested additional reading and 67 pages of notes, so the author did his research.
This is not an anti or pro meat book, it just talks about how strange people, all peoples relationships with animals are. Anyone who has ever taken any prescription medication or had a medical procedure has been a willing participant in medical animal testing. Over 90% of all vegetarians have admitted to eating some kind of meat in the last week.
This is a book that made me think about my own attitudes about animals, but did not try and change any of my behaviors. An interesting and thought provoking book.
3.5 of 5 stars.
This is not an anti or pro meat book, it just talks about how strange people, all peoples relationships with animals are. Anyone who has ever taken any prescription medication or had a medical procedure has been a willing participant in medical animal testing. Over 90% of all vegetarians have admitted to eating some kind of meat in the last week.
This is a book that made me think about my own attitudes about animals, but did not try and change any of my behaviors. An interesting and thought provoking book.
3.5 of 5 stars.
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced