Our Kindred Creatures: How Americans Came to Feel The Way They Do About Animals

In Our Kindred Creatures, Mr. Wasik and Ms. Murphy detail how, in just a few decades at the end of the nineteenth century, the United States underwent a moral revolution on behalf of animals. Before the Civil War, animals' suffering had rarely been discussed; horses pulling carriages and carts were routinely beaten in public view, and dogs were pitted against each other for entertainment and gambling. But in 1866, a group of activists began a dramatic campaign to change the nation’s laws and norms, and by the century’s end, most Americans had adopted a very different way of thinking and feeling about the animals in their midst.

Mr. Bill Wasik is the Editorial Director of the New York Times Magazine. Monica Murphy is a veterinarian and a writer. Their previous book, Rabid: A Cultural History of the World’s Most Diabolical Virus, was a Los Angeles Times best seller and a finalist for the PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award. They live in Brooklyn, New York.

You can join us for the Conversation either in-person in the Library Auditorium or on Zoom; Zoom links will be emailed to everyone who registers for a virtual ticket.

A representative from the Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit will be ready to discuss volunteer opportunities before, during, and after the Event.

Copies of Mr. Wasik’s and Ms. Murphy’s book will be available for purchase before, during, and after the Event outside of the Library Auditorium.