Rosamund Young

Neither surprising, nor very enjoyable to read. I was particularly annoyed by the format (like reading through someone's notes to themselves), the "dialogue" she writes for the cows (it just made the stories read really bizarrely), and the fairly fact-free speculation on science and agricultural policy. I would never deny that animal welfare is very important, and industrial farming a travesty, but finding a better way doesn't mean rejecting science overall. Her ideas about homeopathy and vaccines were not reality-based. This book was part personal observations, and part rousing essay, but didn't do either very well.

I may be biased by the fact that I've already read similar books about invertebrates, meaning that I wasn't remotely surprised by any of the intelligence or personality displayed by the farm animals. The Soul of an Octopus made me very attached to the charismatic molluscs, and Dave Goulson's books make insects come to life. I would recommend them over this.

I added back a star because it did make me laugh a couple of times.… (más)