Books Archive – Page 9 of 18

Captive

In recent years, the role of zoos and aquaria as centers for conservation, education, and entertainment has been placed under scrutiny. From the controversy surrounding the confinement of orcas at SeaWorld to the killing of Harambe the gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo, questions have been asked about the place, if any, of zoos and aquaria in a world where so many animals need resources and protection in the wild and many other means of learning about the natural world exist.

For more than a decade, Canadian photojournalist Jo-Anne McArthur has turned her forensic and sympathetic camera on those animals whom we’ve placed in zoos and we animals who look at them. As with her first book, We Animals (Lantern, 2013), McArthur’s aim is to invite us to reflect on how we observe or ignore one another through the bars, across the moat, or on either side of the glass. Captive is a book that will challenge our preconceptions about zoos and aquaria, animal welfare, and just what or who it is we think we see when we face the animal.

“[U]nusual and at times arresting.”—The Washington Post

“Jo-Anne McArthur’s photographs of haunted and traumatized animals imprisoned for the term of their natural lives for no better reason than that they have a curiosity value for us are infinitely depressing. Taken together, they constitute an indictment of the so-called zoological garden to which there is no conceivable reply.”—J.M. Coetzee, author, The Lives of Animals

“To experience Jo-Anne McArthur’s photography is to absorb the revolutionary idea that the loneliness of a captive animal is our own loneliness—that their confiscation from the natural way of being is our own confiscation from the same. And that perhaps the solution to their existential plight might be the beginning of a solution to our own. Breathtaking, mournful, vital.”—Andrew Westoll, author, The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary

“McArthur sums it all up. We can no longer keep animals like this. Haunting and sad, yet beautifully composed. A must-have book for all who care about animals.”—Britta Jaschinski, photographer

“In her stunning images, Jo-Anne McArthur conveys more than words ever can the injustice of confinement, and the arcane idea that we are lords and they are things.”—Jonathan Balcombe, author, What a Fish Knows

“Captive may have a positive influence on the reader and serve to steer them away from captive animal shows—including dolphins and other whales—and that’s what I like most about the book.”—Ric O’Barry, The Cove, the Dolphin Project

“Captive is a searing reflection of the despair felt by captive wild animals. I hope everyone views the photographs in this great work and dares to recognize themselves in these individuals. We owe it to them.”—Lori Marino, neuroscientist

“As a field ethologist, I’ve been privileged to see animals of all kinds expressing their complex, playful, serious, and fully social selves with their families, friends, and foes in natural settings. McArthur’s beautiful, striking, and utterly shocking photographs show zooed animals in settings where they’re alone, clearly unhappy and depressed, and unable to express their natural behaviors. I deeply hope that what McArthur reveals here will help to close down these prisons and end our objectification of these magnificent sentient beings.”—Marc Bekoff, coauthor, The Animals’ Agenda: Freedom, Compassion, and Coexistence in the Human Age

“The wonder of the work is that it induces that same deep existential hollowness that zoos themselves do, the disquieting sense that, as Rilke, one of the great zoo-visiting poets, put it: ‘the shrewd animals notice that we are not very much at home in the world we’ve expounded.’”—Charles Siebert, author, journalist, poet

Aphro-ism

In this lively, accessible, and provocative collection, Aph and Syl Ko provide new theoretical frameworks on race, advocacy for nonhuman animals, and feminism. Using popular culture as a point of reference for their critiques, the Ko sisters engage in groundbreaking analysis of the compartmentalized nature of contemporary social movements, present new ways of understanding interconnected oppressions, and offer conceptual ways of moving forward expressive of Afrofuturism and black veganism.

“The bold wisdom of Syl and Aph Ko is timely and crucial. They help us re-think the concept of the ‘human’ and the ‘animal,’ calling on scholars and activists to truly understand taxonomies of power. Their feminist sensibilities encourage a deconstruction of Eurocentric understandings of race and species that changes the terms of debates about both.”—Lori Gruen, author, Entangled Empathy

“Aphro-ism is a triumph for anti-racist and animal rights activism! Aph and Syl have created a brilliant framework through which we can integrate all aspects of anti-oppression work. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in dismantling systems of oppression!”—Brenda Sanders, Open the Cages Alliance

“Now, more than ever, is the time to engage in critical thinking and an honest consideration of what is. Reading the work of Aph Ko and her sister Syl within the pages of Aphro-ism will build the perfect foundation needed for activists or anyone wanting to end the oppression of all, by not being the oppressor of one.”—Seba Johnson, Olympian, activist, and vegan since birth

“Aph and Syl Ko’s work has deeply changed my views on activism for the animals. Every time, their work is eye-opening, revisiting the connections between animal liberation and human liberation in a way that is as much critical as constructive and inspiring.”—Frederic Cote-Boudreau, Quebec-based activist, scholar, and blogger

“Aphro-ism is an important read for anyone who is interested in thinking critically and wants to help to not only challenge but change the current dynamic of race and animals in our society. Thanks to these brilliant women of color, I’ve gained a new understanding of systems of oppression and feel less alone in the fight for social justice.”—lauren Ornelas, Founder/Executive Director, Food Empowerment Project

“The Ko sisters are miles ahead of even the most progressive thinkers, with Aphro-ism establishing a theoretical framework and #BlackVegansRock demonstrating its practicability. There’s no better metaphor for the failures of white supremacist capitalism than mortar, since it is the white slime that holds stone together. When the mortar cracks the whole building falls apart. Aph and Syl Ko are the stone. Crack them a thousand times and they remain unbroken.”—Rich Goldstein, Producer, The Daily Beast

“Aph and Syl’s anti-racist and anti-speciesist framework shifts the paradigm of nonhuman and human liberation. Aphro-ism is a revolutionary tool for holistic anti-oppression work that can benefit both grassroots activists and academic scholars.”—Raffi Ciavatta, Cofounder, Collectively Free, and activist

“Aph and Syl Ko are incredible activists and revolutionary thinkers who have influenced the way we approach animal rights and anti-racist activism. Aphro-ism has taught us to view oppression and liberation through a much clearer lens.”—David and Paige Carter, Co-CEOs and Cofounders, The 300-Pound Vegan

“Syl Ko provides a crucial perspective to the movements seeking to secure rights for humans and nonhumans alike. As she so eloquently demonstrates, we should not treat human beings like ‘animals’ any more than we should treat animals like ‘animals.’ Syl’s scholarship challenges us to reassess the standing social order and work toward a more just world.”—Steven M. Wise, Founder and President, The Nonhuman Rights Project

“Aphro-ism is a groundbreaking suite of original essays on the entanglements of race, empire, gender, and species. In their analyses of human and animal oppression, Aph and Syl Ko deliver the trifecta: scholarship that is rigorous, accessible, and deeply important.”—Jason Wyckoff, PhD

“Aph and Syl’s brilliant work is laying the groundwork for an exciting new millennial generation of deeply critical and compassionate thinkers, feminists, and activists. Aphro-ism is helping countless young, hungry critical thinkers navigate through a world of ‘isms,’ make sense of endless contradictions, and come out the other side as more well-equipped, effective, woke activists.”—Richard Bowie, editor at VegNews magazine

“Aphro-ism is paradigm-shattering! Whether your social justice lens leans single-issue or multi-issue, these essays offer razor-sharp critiques of hierarchical foundations and systemic oppression, while also providing frameworks for broad-scale liberation. This book is a vital companion for anyone willing to challenge surface-level ‘connections’ theories in exchange for deep, nuanced insights that have stratospheric potential for creating a more just world.”—Dawn Moncrief, founder, A Well-Fed World

“Aph and Syl Ko have opened my eyes and my mind to the connection between ethical veganism and anti-racism activism. They never fail to inspire and blow my mind with their critical analysis on race and animality.”—Jenne Claiborne, vegan chef, Sweet Potato Soul

“With Aphro-ism, Aph and Syl Ko have added their profound and revolutionary voices to a tradition of critical thinking around liberation, veganism, animal rights, anti-racism, and feminism. This is a sumptuous and necessary read that deepens the conversation and, most importantly, offers another way forward.”—Tracye McQuirter, MPH, author of By Any Greens Necessary

Following Jesus in the Footsteps of Francis

For eight centuries, Francis of Assisi has captured the imagination of generations of spiritual seekers, environmentalists, and people of conscience, well beyond the boundaries of Catholicism and even Christianity. Fr. John Anglin, OFM, a Catholic priest for forty-four years and a Franciscan friar for half a century, reveals how Francis chose a life of living the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a way that everyone, whatever their background, could appreciate. Fr. Anglin explains the spiritual vision of Francis, describes those who came after him, and details how Francis’ vision shapes and inspires the lives of those who would follow Jesus, whether they are members of the Franciscan order or laypeople.

Even Vegans Die

Even Vegans Die empowers vegans and their loved ones to make the best decisions regarding their own health, their advocacy for animals, and their legacy. By addressing issues of disease shaming and body shaming, the authors present a manifesto for building a more compassionate, diverse, and effective vegan community.

Even Vegans Die celebrates the benefits of a plant-based diet while acknowledging that even vegans can get sick. You will learn how to make the health care decisions that are right for you, how to ensure your efforts to help animals will not end after you die, and how to provide compassionate care for yourself and for others in the face of serious illness.

This book offers practical, thoughtful, and sensitive advice on creating a will, mourning, and caregiving. Without shying away from the reality of death, Even Vegans Die offers a message that remains uplifting and hopeful for all animal advocates, and all those who care about them.

“Even people who eat a healthy, plant-based diet, can get seriously ill. That’s why this book is needed. Carol, Patti, and Ginny teach us to live wisely while we are still here, not only by eating well, but also by caring for ourselves and each other. I want to live well and, if necessary, I want to die well, too. If you do also, then start reading.”—From the foreword by Michael Greger, MD

“I really didn’t think that a book about the mortality of vegans would be so beautiful and empowering, but it is. It’s full of sound advice, wisdom, and resources that give you clarity and courage in spite of a culture that prefers to avoid the truth of mortality. It reminded me that it isn’t until we accept our own inevitable death that we can fully live and love ourselves and others as the interdependent, imperfectly perfect animals that we are. This is the most important book I’ve read in a long time, and it will add so much to the vegan cause, community, and canon.”—Marisa Miller Wolfson, Writer/Director, Vegucated

“Even Vegans Die knocked my socks off with its integrity. I was thrilled to read a book by three powerful women telling it like it is! It is so refreshing and easy to read. It is filled with sobering truth and firm, kindhearted advice reminding us that even our fellow vegans deserve compassion.”—lauren Ornelas, Founder/Executive Director, Food Empowerment Project

“Overflowing with compassion and practical wisdom, this book tackles sobering issues of illness, caregiving, death, mourning, and isolation that all people, vegan and not yet vegan, will inevitably confront. Everyone should read this book and reflect on Carol, Patti, and Ginny’s caring advice for living, and eventually dying, well.”—Lori Gruen, author, Entangled Empathy

“A real-life guide to, well: real life, which includes death—despite one’s diet, attitude, or how many times one hears, ‘You don’t look your age.’ Addressing a real problem in the vegan world—that being sick or, heaven forbid, shuffling off this mortal coil somehow makes us ‘bad vegans’—this thoughtful and knowledgeable trio of writers help us in their honest and forthright book to deal wisely with the fact that our days are numbered, and to live with vibrancy and purpose every day we’ve got.”—Victoria Moran, author, Main Street Vegan and The Love-Powered Diet

“Brilliant and inspiring! Carol, Patti, and Ginny have filled a gap in vegan literature with a guide that is as practical as it is powerful. Even Vegans Die helps us navigate many of the challenges we and our loved ones confront as we age. I learned so much from this wise, wonderful, and immensely important book.”—Mark Hawthorne, author, A Vegan Ethic: Embracing A Life Of Compassion Toward All

“Even Vegans Die is a must-read for vegans—an essential and honest reflection on topics that most of us choose to ignore. This book tells us why it is so important for the vegan community to face and embrace these issues.”—Anya Todd, MS, RD, vegan dietitian and animal rescuer

“At sanctuaries, we know better than anybody that everybody dies. We also know that people are most likely to hurt themselves or others when they mistake themselves for superheroes. Even Vegans Die offers a refreshing and essential antidote to all-too-human delusions of invincibility, while also arguing (accurately) that the vegan and animal advocacy movements will become more effective by embracing diversity, including diversity of body size and health experience. As a bonus, the book offers practical advice alongside astute analyses.”—pattrice jones, author and co-founder of VINE Sanctuary

“As a chubby, vegan culinary instructor and cookbook author, I’m hyper-aware of the fact that I don’t fit the bill for selling veganism (‘But you’re not skinny’). And I cringe when some of my culinary students misunderstand that a vegan cooking class is different from a weight-loss cooking class. In an attempt to make veganism sexy, there’s a pervasive message that vegans are skinny, disease-proof and should look 30 when they’re 70. That’s not fair to the incredibly diverse vegans I know—of all sizes, shapes, races, ages, gender identifies, and religions—and it sure doesn’t help the animals. This book is important and it’s done just right. It’s a tool for vegan activists to speak pragmatically about the health benefits (and myths) of a plant-based diet. It’s a guide for dealing with the realty of health, illness and, ultimately, death: death of the people we love, as well as our own. And it’s a call for rational compassion. Hats off to the dynamic trio of authors who tackle this difficult topic with kindness, truth, and hope.—JL Fields, author The Vegan Air Fryer and Vegan Pressure Cooking

“The benefits of a plant-based diet and a healthy lifestyle are underutilized and underappreciated, yet concurrently to some they represent a moral high ground as an impenetrable shield defying risk, chance, and even death. To be sick or overweight or in anyway unrepresentative of an ideal body is deemed unclean and immoral and the fault always lies on the individual. But the research that outlines the benefits of a vegan diet also shows us that disease and death are a part of our lives beyond diet and lifestyle. A range of body types has always existed and will continue to exist and to expect otherwise is detrimental to our collective health. Even Vegans Die is here to remind us that snake oil is not vegan and in order to do the most good we have to accept this reality and act accordingly.”—Matt Ruscigno, MPH, RD, co-author, No Meat Athlete and Appetite for Reduction

“Why is a title as obviously true as Even Vegans Die so provocative? This much-needed book from some of the vegan movement’s most compelling thinkers not only provides insights into this question, it also offers a wide range of practical advice on how to better care for ourselves and our community—and why it’s critically important to do so. Eschewing perfectionism, denial, and blame, the authors present a care-centered lifestyle and model of effective activism based on discerning realism and profound inclusivity. The result is an empowering set of theories and recommendations that embolden people of conscience to create more deliberate lives and more enduring legacies.”—Dawn Moncrief, Founding Director, A Well-Fed World

The Wandering Friar

The Catholic Church is an institution that evokes wonder, curiosity, awe, and reverence, but also hurt, confusion, fear, and anger. Franciscan friar and priest, Fr. John Anglin, OFM, presents a picture of the Church not through its institutional structures, but through the lived experience of the members that he has encountered on his extensive travels during more than forty years of active ministry.

In The Wandering Friar, you meet the rich and the poor; urbanites, suburbanites, and country dwellers; white, black, and brown folks; some of strong faith, others of weak or growing faith—but all of them Catholic. Fr. Anglin also talks his early life and how he came to grow into an exciting and rewarding ministry.

Going Inside

In Going Inside (the companion volume to his Finding God Within) Ray Leonardini offers a practical manual for all those who are engaged, or are thinking of becoming engaged, with contemplative (or centering) prayer in prison. With advice from his own experience as well as that of prisoners themselves, Going Inside is an essential tool to enable your centering prayer groups to be effective and transformative for everyone involved.

“I only wish I had this guidance and advice when I was a jail chaplain for fourteen years. You do not need to fly by the seat of your pants anymore! When you have access to a man as patient and experienced as Ray Leonardini, you would be wise to let him guide you—in one of the least supported and yet most needed ministries of Christianity.”—Fr. Richard Rohr, O.F.M., Center for Action and Contemplation; author, Breathing under Water

Finding God Within

A thoughtful and moving guide on the many benefits of contemplative prayer and meditation taught and guided in a prison setting.

For over a decade, Ray Leonardini has been visiting the incarcerated in Folsom State Prison and other correctional facilities, where he has been teaching and facilitating contemplative prayer–the contemporary manifestation of the ancient Christian meditative tradition. In Finding God Within: Contemplative Prayer for Prisoners, Leonardini demonstrates the extraordinary power of contemplative, or centering, prayer in transforming the lives of prisoners. Leonardini offers insightful analysis of biblical passages that show the power of prayer, faith, and surrender to ease addiction, stress, and despair. Finding God Within is an essential introduction to contemplative prayer for people of all faiths engaged in prison ministry and interested in exploring contemplative prayer mediation.

This new edition includes a new chapter on The Welcoming Prayer, a new foreword and afterword, and a chapter on the documentary based on this book.

“I had the privilege of attending Ray Leonardini’s centering prayer gathering at Folsom State Prison. I was touched by the depth of the practice shared in the group, and the peace those men have found in their lives. The dear men that I met that evening are testimony to this deep and heartfelt practice. As a tool for spiritual transformation, it clearly works! I hope you will give this practice a try. I wish that kind of peace for each of you.”—Sita Lozoff, Human Kindness Foundation

For the Love of Lemurs

In 1986, primatologist Patricia Chapple Wright was given a seemingly impossible task: to travel to the rainforests of Madagascar and find the greater bamboo lemur, a species that hadn’t been seen in the wild for thirty years. Not only did Wright discover that the primate still existed but that it lived alongside a completely new species. What followed was a love affair with an animal and a country that continues to this day.

In this frank and enchanting sequel to High Moon Over the Amazon, Wright recounts the many challenges she faced, including separation from her daughter, a tempestuous romance with a fellow scientist, and political upheaval that threatens her dream of establishing a national park to ensure the safety of her precious lemurs. But in the end, her tenacity, daring, and passion for this endangered primate lead to extraordinary scientific breakthroughs and help bring the animal back from the brink of extinction.

“Pat’s story took me on an inspirational journey that will remain with me forever. Truly.”—Morgan Freeman, actor

“What a delight to have so many of Pat Wright’s adventures in Madagascar in one book. I have been following her work for 30 years now, and what she has accomplished there is simply miraculous. Pat is a true eco hero, one of the best ever, and her program in Ranomafana is a model for conservationists everywhere.”—Russ Mittermeier, president, Conservation International and chairman, IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group

“A static summary of achievements is not enough to convey Pat’s impact on protecting lemurs and their habitat in Madagascar.”—Michael Crowther, president and CEO of the Indianapolis Zoological Society

“She found the greater bamboo lemur, which everyone thought had been extinct for 50 years. She discovered the golden bamboo lemur, which nobody had ever even seen before. Pat is a real hero. For her, conservation isn’t just about animals, it’s about all the people that live around the animals, and making everybody’s lives better.” —Drew Fellman, Producer and Writer, Island of Lemurs

Fell in Her Hands

“Ruth Lauer-Manenti’s latest and most ambitious literary project transforms complex ideas from Patanjali’s classic Yoga Sutra into real-life moments. The result is a storytelling experience so visceral one wonders why it had not been done before. If the Sutra speaks truths so large we risk losing focus, there is a lot to be said for the humble voice that grounds those truths in realities we can all identify and share. A masterful performance.”—Joshua M. Greene, author, Gita Wisdom: An Introduction to India’s Essential Yoga Text

“If you want to teach that which is profound, it is often necessary to weave the threads of truth into a clever story, and this is what Ruth has done. She has skillfully written in narrative form a retelling of Patanjali’s from the perspective of remarkable characters, who reveal in the details of their lives how the thread fell in her hands.” —Sharon Gannon, co-founder, Jivamukti Yoga

“Ruth Lauer-Manenti writes with a poet’s eye, delicately directing our attention to places of worship, ways of caring and areas we might not immediately think are worthy of reflection. She is amused, amazed, and perceptive, and in her world it seems everything is a lesson about how we might live better and find a deeper purpose. We would do well to listen to her.”—Susan Minot, author, Thirty Girls

“Fell in Her Hands is special and unique in that Lady Ruth re-tells the Sutra through modern narratives, introducing characters that are recognizable and circumstances all too human. As a result, this book makes comprehending the Sutra accessible, relatable, and deeply personal. She is masterful in her storytelling, in love with her subject, and generous in her ability to share her wisdom with us all. I highly recommend this book, this teacher, and all she has to offer.”—Seane Corn, co-founder, Off the Mat, Into the World

“I have come across many commentaries on the Yoga Sutra in English by great scholars. Normally, other commentators explain the sutras with a philosophical background. The method followed by Lady Ruth is through experience and stories, which catch the attention of the reader. Transmission of knowledge in India has been through dialogues, stories, and debates, which we can find in the Vedas and Upanishads. Let yoga enthusiasts all over the world read this book and reach the state of samadhi or equanimity.”—Dr. M. A. Jayashree