From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  September 2011:

The 30-day Vegan Challenge
by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau
Random House (1745 Broadway,
New York,  NY 10019),  2011.
336 pages,  paperback.  $22.00.

The title of this new book,  The 30-day Vegan Challenge, could be the name of a grueling road race for non-flesh eaters. Instead it’s a practical guide for vegans or vegan wannabes.  I did my review on a full stomach because the recipe for a chickpea burger tempted me to chomp down rather than read.  The book starts out defining “vegan,”  a word coined in 1944 by British animal activist Donald Watson (1910-2005).  Watson,  who founded the Vegan Society, defined veganism as a conscious decision to avoid expoliting animals for food,  clothing,  or any other purpose. Read more

From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  September 2011:

Eating Animals
by Jonathan Safran Foer
Little,  Brown & Co. (1271 Ave. of the Americas, New York,  NY 10020),    2009.
341 pages,  hardcover.  $25.99.

What most clearly sets Eating Animals apart from the bulk of animal rights literature is the perspective from which it is written–not the firm, impassioned mindset of a longtime activist,  but that of a lifelong omnivore engaged in his first thorough exploration of the vegetarian debate.  Jonathan Safran Foer’s catalyst for writing Eating Animals was not any conviction as to the merit (or lack thereof) of a vegetarian lifestyle,  but rather the birth of the author’s first son,  and the necessity of making responsible dietary choices on his behalf and raising him with a consistent moral framework. Read more