Description
"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."--Genesis 1:24-26
In this crucial passage from the Old Testament, God grants mankind power over animals. But with this privilege comes the grave responsibility to respect life, to treat animals with simple dignity and compassion.
Somewhere along the way, something has gone wrong.
In "Dominion," we witness the annual convention of Safari Club International, an organization whose wealthier members will pay up to $20,000 to hunt an elephant, a lion or another animal, either abroad or in American "safari ranches," where the animals are fenced in pens. We attend the annual International Whaling Commission conference, where the skewed politics of the whaling industry come to light, and the focus is on developing more lethal, but not more merciful, methods of harvesting "living marine resources." And we visit a gargantuan American "factory farm," where animals are treated as mere product and raised in conditions of mass confinement, bred for passivity and bulk, inseminated and fed with machines, kept in tightly confined stalls for the entirety of their lives, and slaughtered in a way that maximizes profits and minimizes decency.
Throughout "Dominion," Scully counters the hypocritical arguments that attempt to excuse animal abuse: from those who argue that the Bible's message permits mankind to use animals as it pleases, to the hunter's argument that through hunting animal populations are controlled, to the popular and "scientifically proven" notions that animals cannot feel pain, experience no emotions, and are not conscious of their own lives.
The result is eye opening, painful and infuriating, insightful and rewarding. "Dominion" is a plea for human benevolence and mercy, a scathing attack on those who would dismiss animal activists as mere sentimentalists, and a demand for reform from the government down to the individual. Matthew Scully has created a groundbreaking work, a book of lasting power and importance for all of us.
Matthew Scully is a special assistant and senior speechwriter to President George W. Bush. A former literary editor for "National Review," he has been published in various periodicals including "The New York Times," "The Washington Post," and "The Wall Street Journal." He lives with his wife, Emmanuelle, in northern Virginia. Visit him at www.matthewscully.com.
"Atlantic Monthly" Editor's Choice Award
Early in the Book of Genesis, God grants mankind power over animals. But with this privilege comes the grave responsibility to respect life, to treat animals with both dignity and compassion. But somewhere along the way, as this shocking and well-researched study reveals, something has gone wrong.
"Dominion" profiles the annual convention of Safari Club International, an organization whose wealthier members will pay up to $20,000 to hunt an elephant, a lion, or another animal, either abroad or in American "safari ranches," where the animals are fenced in pens. The book also covers the annual International Whaling Commission conference, where the focus is on developing more lethal, but not more merciful, methods of harvesting "living marine resources." And readers are shown a hellish American "factory farm," where animals are treated as mere product and raised in conditions of mass confinement: bred for passivity and bulk, inseminated and fed with machines, kept in tightly confined stalls for the entirety of their lives, and slaughtered in a way that maximizes profits and minimizes decency. Throughout "Dominion," author Scully challenges and expertly counters the hypocritical arguments that attempt to excuse animal abuse: from those who argue that the Bible's message permits mankind to use animals as it pleases; to hunters who claim that their sport helps control animal populations; and to defenders of popular and "scientifically proven" notions that animals cannot feel pain, do not experience emotions, and are not conscious of their own lives.
This book is eye-opening--a truly painful, infuriating, insightful, and rewarding work. "Dominion" is a plea for human benevolence and mercy, a scathing attack on those who would dismiss animal activists as mere sentimentalists, and a demand for reform from the government down to the individual.
"With an almost masochistic resolve, [Scully] exposes himself to the theory and practice of exploitation as it is found among the exponents of commercial hunting and industrial farming . . . In the three arenas--food, sport, and experiment--Scully asks all the right questions . . . He does this in beautiful and witty prose."--Christopher Hitchens, "The Atlantic Monthly"
"[An] important book . . . rich with thought. It is horrible in its subject, a half-reportorial, half-philosophical examination of some of the most repugnant things that human beings do to animals . . . The book is wonderful in its eloquent, mordant clarity . . . Scully's argument is fundamentally a moral one. It is wrong to be cruel to animals, he says, and when our cruelty expands and mutates to the point where we no longer recognize the animals in a factory farm as living creatures capable of feeling pain and fear, or when we insist on an inalienable right to stalk and slaughter intelligent, magnificent creatures like elephants or polar bears for the sheer, bracing thrill of it . . . then we debase ourselves."--Natalie Angier, "The New York Times Book Review"
"Scully has written what is surely destined to become a classic defense of mercy. A master of language, he leaves a memorable phrase on virtually every page."--Nicols Fox, " The Washington Post "
"An extraordinary book, deep, witty, incisive . . . Anyone who has anything to do with animals (and that means everyone who eats them) owes it to him or herself to read this extraordinary book. It just might change your life."--Jeffrey Mousaieff Masson, author of W"hen Elephants Weep," in the" New Zealand Listener"
"Scully's riveting account . . . shows how unspeakable and systematic animal cruelty is the currency of a soulless industry that has shattered American rural communities, poisoned our soils, air, and water, made family farmers an endangered species, and undermined our democracy. Scully's book gently questions whether we can foster human dignity in a society that treats other sentient beings as production units."--Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
"Matthew Scully has set forth a case--in a wry and riveting manner--that will resonate with any reader who values logical reasoning and ethical conduct. I expect "Dominion" will be the most influential book on animal protection in the last twenty-five years."--Wayne Pacelle, Senior Vice President, Humane Society of the United States
"Marvelous . . . Scully asks the right questions . . . When he is in form, he does this in beautiful and witty prose . . . Scully is at his best when he goes out into the field. With an almost masochistic resolve, he exposes himself to the theory and practice of exploitation as it is found among the exponents of commercial hunting and industrial farming. The arguments he hears [are] about gutsy individualism in the first case and rationalized profit in the second . . . Without condescension but with a fine contempt he intr
Reviews
"Scully's riveting account... shows how unspeakable and systematic animal cruelty is the currency of a soulless industry that has shattered American rural communities, poisoned our soils, air, and water, made family farmers an endangered species, and undermined our democracy. Scully's book gently questions whether we can foster human dignity in a society that treats other sentient beings as production units." --- Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
"Matthew Scully has set forth a case - in a wry and riveting manner - that will resonate with any reader who values logical reasoning and ethical conduct. I expect that "Dominion "will be the most influential book on animal protection in the last twenty-five years." -- Wayne Pacelle, Senior Vice President, The Humane Society of the United States
