Beg: A Radical New Way of Regarding Animals
She charmed us, challenged us, and made us double over laughing in her best-selling diet manifesto Skinny Bitch (2008). Now Freedman turns to a tenderer topic: our relationships with animals. What begins as an endearing celebration of the animals we know best—our pets—becomes an impassioned entreaty on behalf of all creatures, especially those we may never see but that are involved in the production of our films, food, clothing, and pharmaceuticals. Freedman manages to craft a read that is both spry and absorbing even when she recounts the most troubling details of animal mistreatment. Though it employs a healthy dose of the same snarkiness that defined Freedman’s previous book, Beg goes further, situating animal advocacy within a spiritual and ethical worldview. Readers are even offered a peek into Freedman’s own personal transformation from a top New York City modeling agent to an animal-rights activist. Beg is both sweet and unsettling; any animal lover interested in deepening his or her commitment to animal welfare will find it a highly motivating call to action. --Brett Beasley