This book was a gift to me from a dear friend many years ago. I was struggling with the hypocrisy of my love for animals but the fact that I was still eating them/wearing them. I have now been a vegetarian for over eight years, and I owe the beginning of this fact to this book by Newkirk. This book educated me on the facts/plights of our animal friends in this country and, in many cases, the world. By telling me about things I did not know (because society hides it from the common consumer), such as the truth behind and about animal testing, factory farms, pet stores, etc., this book makes the reader really think and review their lives and how their choices affect the lives of other animals on the planet we share with them. Dealing with topics from how to discover what household/beauty products are animal cruelty free to how a student goes about objecting to science class dissection assignments, this book is a real tool for anyone who is wanting to change their lives, become educated, and make a real difference in the lives of other animals. I would recommend this book to everyone. I wish I could make everyone in the world read it, as there would be so much less suffering if ignorance was destroyed with the education/suggestions that this book offers. It is in a very easy to read format and could easily be understood by high-school aged children through adults.