DogFriendly. com's Lodging Guide for Travelers with Dogs: Hotels, Resorts, B&Bs and Vacation Rentals That Welcome Dogs of All Sizes Book

This was definitely not a book written for someone like me, and yet I loved parts of it. The book's premise is that farm animals are so much more complex and intelligent than we previously thought, so we should stop using cruel and inhumane methods to raise them for food. I know I can't speak for all farmers, but as the daughter of one, I can tell you that my dad has always said a happy healthy animal is ultimately a more profitable one when it comes time to sell. But I guess if you're a vegetarian because you feel that eating animals is cruel, then I can buy that confining them in pens in order to raise them for food would also bother you. I just don't happen to agree with that position.

Luckily most of the book focuses on the amazing mental, social and emotional abilities of farm animals. Growing up so close to animals, most of this information didn't surprise me, but it's still neat to see that there's growing recognition of animal intelligence, and there were a few details I learned, like the fact that they've trained pigs to play video games. If you're animal lover, this is breezy read full of intelligent reporting on animal studies research, as well as emotionally manipulative vignettes of farm animal life. I think I can recommend this one, but only with the caveat to not believe all the hype about animal-cruelty perpetuated by farmers.