Best books … chosen by Martha Grimes
Best-selling mystery writer Martha Grimes is the author of the Richard Jury series. Her new thriller, Dakota, concerns a young woman with amnesia who lands work at an industrialized pig farm.
Dominion by Matthew Scully (St. Martin’s, $16). “Canned” hunts, Safari Club conventions, and factory farming. A crushingly sad account of the many ways in which animals are savagely treated in our society and the many ways in which humans rationalize that treatment.
The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan (Penguin, $16). That hamburger you’re eating was barely kissed by a cow. Pollan’s tour of four meals opens our eyes to our increasingly great distance from the natural world, how little we know about the food we eat, and how far the circumstances that produced it are from the images in our minds.
Slaughterhouse by Gail Eisnitz (Prometheus, $19). Hold your breath and grit your teeth. A 1997 investigation of the meatpacking industry that shows us the cruelties inflicted on farm animals and the gross neglect by government agencies to enforce the law. Resistant cattle? Shove electric prods down their throats. And that’s before they get inside the slaughterhouse.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser (Harper Perennial, $15). Since Upton Sinclair said in 1906 in The Jungle that human beings were cogs “in the great packing machine,” not much has changed. This recent landmark investigation of the fast-food industry shows us the cynical opportunism beneath the great burger dome.
Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat (Back Bay, $13). In the 1960s, the Canadian government suspected that packs of marauding wolves were slaughtering caribou. Mowat was sent to investigate. What the biologist-author saw was that the wolves he lived among were family-oriented, intelligent, and loyal. Mowat debunks the myth that a wolf would as soon leap at your throat as look at you.
The Pig Who Sang to the Moon by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson (Ballantine, $14). This 2004 work gives us ample evidence that animals share our emotions, from the pig who sang on a beach beneath the moon to the acute grief of the cow whose calf was taken away. That pigs and cows could possibly have feelings is something we don’t want to admit. We might have to stop eating them.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Major League Baseball is facing an epidemic of pitcher's injuries
Under the Radar Many insiders are blaming the pitch clock for the rise in injuries — but the league is not so sure
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
8 movie musicals that prove the screen can share the stage
The Week Recommends The singing and dancing, bigger than life itself
By Scott Hocker, The Week US Published
-
2024 Mother's Day Gift Guide
The Week Recommends A present for every mom
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
Daniel Wallace's 5 favorite books that should not be forgotten
Feature The author recommends works by Italo Calvino, Evan S. Connell, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Sarah Langan recommends 6 women-centric horror books
Feature The horror novelist recommends works by Stephen King, Gillian Flynn, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Amanda Montell's 6 favorite books that will expand your knowledge
Feature The linguist recommends works by Mary Roach, Alice Carrière, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Rowan Beaird recommends 6 compelling books from the 1950s
Feature The author recommends works by Patricia Highsmith, Shirley Jackson, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Stephen Graham Jones' 6 scary books with deeper meanings
Feature The best-selling author recommends works by Stephen King, Sara Gran, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Keith O'Brien's 6 must-read books about significant moments in sports history
Feature The best-selling author recommends works by Laura Hillenbrand, Jonathan Eig and more
By The Week US Published
-
Lauren Oyler's favorite collection of essays that will leave you deep in thought
Feature The author recommends works by Elif Batuman, Mark Greif, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Rebecca Serle's 6 favorite books about interpersonal relationships
Feature The best-selling author recommends works by J.D. Salinger, Dolly Alderton, and more
By The Week US Published