Review by Choice Review
Animal Studies is the author's attempt to delineate a field of study that he feels is at its beginning stages, but is necessary for human understanding of animals and indeed humankind's place in a full, rich world that includes them. For Waldau (Canisius College), animals' own reality is important, not humans' view of them or human-centered use of them. He draws on the intellectual approach and the historical contribution of many different areas, from science to the creative arts, philosophy, and areas such as anthropology and geography. This collection and expression of competence ends up as a rather boring list. It is mostly in philosophy, when Waldau reviews the viewpoints of specific theorists, that his exposition lives and breathes. He minimizes the contribution of science, which he sees as objectifying animals, and discusses the parallels between marginalized human groups and animals. Further, he makes it clear that he sees scientific research as driven by political and commercial agendas; this is surprising considering the many scientists who have nothing to do with the political-industrial complex. The result is a useful summary, but it is heavy going at times. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students and researchers/faculty. J. A. Mather University of Lethbridge
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review