Thought to Exist in the Wild: Awakening from the Nightmare of Zoos
by Derrick Jensen
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 45)
My real rating would be somewhere between 2.5 and 3 stars, I think. Jensen is a marvelous writer, but I remain overall unconvinced. I think much his message is drowned out in his own self-righteous, angry, screed-like tone. It's when he calms down that he begins to actually relay a message that's clear and moving to an extent, though not entirely (for me anyway). I understand (and even empathize and agree) with his take to a point, but I was alienated by much of the tone of the book and felt tha...more
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Read in February, 2008
After I expressed my fragmented feelings over visiting a small zoo on my vacation this fall, a co-worker recommended this book. Apparently I am not alone in this feeling: concerned about the happiness of the animals, yet still imbibing in the entertainment because I would never otherwise get so close to such animals.
Interspersed with photos by Karen Tweedy-Holmes of animals in captivity, the author o...more
Interspersed with photos by Karen Tweedy-Holmes of animals in captivity, the author o...more
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Taking away an animals basic freedom to roam in the wild and live the rest of their lives in a "habitat" is preposterous. Jensen gives out fact after fact that animals in zoos do not survive in relation to the numbers that are captured. He states numerous times that many people do not believe that animals have feelings, therefore it is ok to treat the animals in the way that they do. It doesn't surprise me that this rational is shared by many, we can't even treat each other like hum
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this book expresses clearly and convincingly the horror that zoos truly represent. zoos are the ultimate symbol of the human animal's counterproductive need to dominate and commodify life on the planet. the heartbreaking photos show ghostly, broken shells of creatures that in no way resemble their wild counterparts.
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Read in September, 2008
So incredibly angry and sad I couldn't even read, so I just looked at the pictures and quickly returned it to the library. What can I do?
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Read in October, 2007
as powerful as jensen's writing often is, the photographs by karen tweedy-holmes are as astonishingly potent. a thousand words, indeed. the rilke poem (the panther) at the beginning sums it all up quite simply.
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Jensen is a fundamentalist. Plain and simple. That makes him easy to agree with. And infuriating. In my case it is both, requiring a bit of time to process through.
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
everyone
Phenomenal, astounding
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