In Animal Envy, Ralph Nader proposes that a programmer has created a 'digital translation' app whereby animals of different species, from insects to whales, can speak to one another, and through a 'hyper-advanced converter' these animals can also speak to humans. It is decided there will be a global assembly called 'The Great Talkout' that will be viewed by humans everywhere, in all human languages, as well as all animal languages. The novel that ensues is part parable, part contemporary politics, and part animal lore, deeply felt and powerfully informed.
In Animal Envy, Ralph Nader proposes that a programmer has created a 'digital translation' app whereby animals of different species, from insects to whales, can speak to one another, and through a 'hyper-advanced converter' these animals can also speak to humans. It is decided there will be a global assembly called 'The Great Talkout' that will be viewed by humans everywhere, in all human languages, as well as all animal languages. The novel that ensues is part parable, part contemporary politics, and part animal lore, deeply felt and powerfully informed.
Named by the Atlantic as one of the hundred most influential figures in American history, and by Time and Life magazines as one of the hundred most influential Americans of the twentieth century, RALPH NADER and the dozens of citizen groups he has founded have helped us drive safer cars, eat healthier food, breathe better air, drink cleaner water, and work in safer workplaces. Nader continues to be a relentless advocate for grassroots activism and democratic change. With Animal Envy, he is raising the stakes yet again with a book that could restore America to itself once and for all.
"A tale of two kingdoms, mirroring the reflective insight of
animals and closing eyes of human kind. Animal
Envy is a clarion call!" —Patti Smith
"It's good to see Ralph Nader turning his attention to the way we
treat animals. Whether you love or hate the unusual framework
he has chosen, the ideas he presents are important and demand our
attention." —Peter Singer, professor of bioethics, Princeton
University, and author, Animal Liberation
"Using results from research on the cognitive and emotional lives
of animals, Mr. Nader weaves in plausible stories of what we can
learn about their agenda if we take the time to talk with and
listen carefully to them. All in all, Animal Envy is a
highly original and visionary book that made me think deeply about
human-animal relationships and how they must change as other
animals plea for less violence and appeal for compassionate
coexistence in the Anthropocene, an epoch that truly has become the
rage of humanity." —Marc Bekoff, author of The Animals'
Agenda: Freedom, Compassion, and Coexistence in the Human
Age (forthcoming, Beacon Press)
"In his original and visionary book Animal Envy: A Fable,
political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney Ralph Nader
wrote about what he called "The Great Talkout." By using a
digitally converted language that is understandable across species,
diverse nonhuman animals—from insects to whales—are able to
communicate with one another and also with human animals. In this
global assembly, a panoply of animals not only tells us who they
really are and what they want and need to flourish, but also show
how they can be of great benefit to us—a win-win for all. Mr. Nader
also notes the dangers of zoonotic diseases being transmitted to
humans." —Psychology Today
"As to be expected from a book by Ralph Nader, Animal
Envy is hard to pigeonhole—being equal parts science fiction,
philosophy, science and nature reporting, tragedy, and
comedy. What is clear is that the book provides a wildly
imaginative, illuminating, often hilarious (and sometimes
politically incorrect) look at the fraught relationship between
humans and the fellow creatures with whom we tenuously share a
fragile home. Most important, the book is a desperate plea
(from the animals themselves) that we change that relationship
before it is too late for both them and us." —Eric R.
Glitzenstein, animal and environmental attorney, and co-founder of
Meyer, Glitzenstein & Eubanks LLP
"Ralph Nader brings all of his formidable integrity and
intelligence to this most important discussion of all: relations
between humans and the rest of the world. We humans owe Nader a
deep thank you for creating this crucial and far-reaching
book." —Derrick Jensen, author of The Myth of Human
Supremacy
"The thing that makes Nader’s tale distinctive is the degree of
knowledge and insight he demonstrates about animal welfare issues
today. Animal Envy reveals its author as a keen observer
of contemporary developments in the field, and an avid consumer of
current news and information concerning animals, their capacities,
their status, and their suffering..... I think it is tremendous
that Nader, who at 83 is still in the heart of the fight to make
America a better and stronger nation, has made his commitment to
animal protection more public with Animal Envy. He hopes to
see the work read and embraced by a universal audience, people of
all ages and backgrounds, in the United States and abroad. That’s
my hope, too." —Wayne Pacelle
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