Our Kindred Creatures

Praise

“Our Kindred Creatures is the most elegantly written, rigorously researched, and morally nuanced portrait of America’s early animal advocates I’ve ever read. More important, it’s the story of how widespread social change happens. Anyone who cares about human-animal relationships should put this book at the very top of their reading list.”—Bronwen Dickey, author of Pit Bull

“A colorful menagerie of characters fills this radiant history of the tumultuous first three decades (1866–1896) of America’s animal welfare movement… a scintillating overview of how animals earned legal rights and moral sympathy in the latter half of the 19th century.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review*

“Extensively researched… Of obvious appeal to animal lovers, this engaging account will also resonate with readers who enjoy in-depth looks at the history and shaping of contemporary American values.”—Kathleen McBroom, Booklist, starred review*

“[Our Kindred Creatures] is at once a model of historical recovery and a bracing takedown of our own attitudes toward those we caress and those we devour.”—Anne Matthews, The American Scholar

“Our Kindred Creatures chronicles one of the great shifts in perspective of the 19th century: the recognition that the suffering and well-being of animals belong to the sphere of human morality. Populated by a cast of mesmerizing characters (and creatures), the book gives us a thrilling secret history of the 19th century, helping us understand how a new, world-changing idea first takes flight.”—Steven Johnson, author of The Ghost Map

“The authors of Rabid return with an examination of the historical shift in attitudes of Americans toward animals…A well-researched account that strikes a nice balance between description and analysis.”—Kirkus Reviews

“I had no idea when I opened Our Kindred Creatures that I would be taken on a wild ride through the splendor, horror, and sheer strangeness of late-19th-century America. Nor did I realize that the authors would convince me that the fight against cruelty to animals played a key part in the American story, like abolitionism and the labor movement. This book is a wonder, as entertaining as it is instructive.” —Charles C. Mann, author of 1491

“This fascinating, important book traces an awakening in American culture—to the moral dimension of human behavior toward animals. It’s a vivid narrative, panoramic, rich in surprises, scientifically grounded, deftly written, and tinctured with continuing moral challenge for all of us.” —David Quammen, author of Breathless