100 books like Treated Like Animals

By Alick Simmons,

Here are 100 books that Treated Like Animals fans have personally recommended if you like Treated Like Animals. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Book cover of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants

Diana Finch Author Of Value Beyond Money: An Exploration of The Bristol Pound and The Building Blocks for An Alternative Economic System

From my list on our thought-provoking socio-economic system.

Why am I passionate about this?

All my life, I’ve been aware that there are many layers to reality, many of which are human fabrications. Some are physical, like roads. Some are social, like healthcare. But the ones that control our lives the most, and that determine our global outcomes (poverty, war and ecological degradation for example), are ideological. The most powerful of these is our economic system. If we are to address the meta-crisis, I feel passionately that we need to be able to question and reimagine the economy. All the books I’ve chosen have been really important in helping me to think differently about things we usually take for granted.

Diana's book list on our thought-provoking socio-economic system

Diana Finch Why did Diana love this book?

I love this book because of how beautiful and hopeful it is. The author pulls together amazing stories from her life to gradually weave an understanding of the meta-crisis we find ourselves in. I was captivated by the way she contrasts her family’s indigenous American culture with our modern approaches to both science and the economy.

I love Robin’s prose, which is exquisitely written. But perhaps what I value the most is the fact that she writes with optimism, giving me the courage to get up every day and think about how to put her wisdom into practice.

By Robin Wall Kimmerer,

Why should I read it?

51 authors picked Braiding Sweetgrass as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Called the work of "a mesmerizing storyteller with deep compassion and memorable prose" (Publishers Weekly) and the book that, "anyone interested in natural history, botany, protecting nature, or Native American culture will love," by Library Journal, Braiding Sweetgrass is poised to be a classic of nature writing. As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer asks questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces indigenous teachings that consider plants and animals to be our oldest teachers. Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowledge together to take "us on a journey that is…


Book cover of Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

Ruby Todd Author Of Bright Objects

From my list on life after personal tragedy.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always been preoccupied with how personal tragedy, loss, and grief can ultimately teach us truths about existence and our own strength that we might never have learned otherwise. As a child, I was confounded by the fact of death and the transience of life, and as an adult, I’ve spent much time contemplating how literature is able to testify to the magnitude of these things in ways that ordinary language cannot. This interest led me to complete a PhD on the topic of elegiac literature and has also influenced the themes of my own fiction. I hope you find connection and inspiration in the books on this list! 

Ruby's book list on life after personal tragedy

Ruby Todd Why did Ruby love this book?

I was moved and delighted by this highly original novel, which blends murder-mystery with heartfelt philosophical explorations into animal rights, mysticism, existential anxiety, and our own humanity.

Narrator-protagonist Janina, a woman who translates Blake, studies horoscopes and feels a deep connection to the animals around her; she tells the story of what happens one winter when a series of men in her Polish village are murdered by a culprit yet to be found.

I adored this book’s intelligence and blending of tragedy and humor. Its narrative combines a compelling plot with a distinctive first-person voice and deeply thoughtful reflections about the beauty, cruelty, and wonder of life.

By Olga Tokarczuk, Antonia Lloyd-Jones (translator),

Why should I read it?

13 authors picked Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

With DRIVE YOUR PLOW OVER THE BONES OF THE DEAD, Nobel Prize in Literature laureate Olga Tokarczuk returns with a subversive, entertaining noir novel. In a remote Polish village, Janina Duszejko, an eccentric woman in her sixties, recounts the events surrounding the disappearance of her two dogs. She is reclusive, preferring the company of animals to people; she's unconventional, believing in the stars; and she is fond of the poetry of William Blake, from whose work the title of the book is taken. When members of a local hunting club are found murdered, Duszejko becomes involved in the investigation. By…


Book cover of In the Shadow of Man

Hugh Warwick Author Of Cull of the Wild: Killing in the Name of Conservation

From my list on animals and nature.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always loved animals—my adopted parents were not particularly interested, but when I met my biological mother in my mid-30s, I found out where it came from! That innate passion has driven my life. Writers like Jane Goodall were the gatekeepers—showing me the way forward and giving me permission to study and care. We need to learn more about nonhuman animals and the ecosystems that we share to better understand how to redress the damage we have caused. And while facts are important, stories are even more so. Each of these authors manages to weave both together with such great skill.

Hugh's book list on animals and nature

Hugh Warwick Why did Hugh love this book?

This book changed my world. Jane’s work exploring the behavior and ecology of chimpanzees was simply inspirational when I first read it as a child. I wanted to do what she did—study animals.

It was only when I returned to it that I realized the significance of her ability to tell stories about the animals she met, introducing their characters as well as the data. Additionally, her work went on to break the barriers of personhood. If we accept human exceptionalism—that we are so special because of what we can do—then we need to remember that there are many other species that can do much of what we can—and many other things we can’t. It is good to embrace some humility.

By Jane Goodall,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked In the Shadow of Man as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'One of history's most impressive field studies; an instant animal classic' TIME

Jane Goodall's classic account of primate research provides an impressively detailed and absorbing account of the early years of her field study of, and adventures with, chimpanzees in Tanzania, Africa. It is a landmark for everyone to enjoy.


Book cover of One Garden Against the World: In Search of Hope in a Changing Climate

Hugh Warwick Author Of Cull of the Wild: Killing in the Name of Conservation

From my list on animals and nature.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always loved animals—my adopted parents were not particularly interested, but when I met my biological mother in my mid-30s, I found out where it came from! That innate passion has driven my life. Writers like Jane Goodall were the gatekeepers—showing me the way forward and giving me permission to study and care. We need to learn more about nonhuman animals and the ecosystems that we share to better understand how to redress the damage we have caused. And while facts are important, stories are even more so. Each of these authors manages to weave both together with such great skill.

Hugh's book list on animals and nature

Hugh Warwick Why did Hugh love this book?

Kate has done something quite amazing with this book—there is a gorgeous surface of nature/garden writing. She is a knowledgeable and brilliantly skilled author, which alone would have made this a wonderful book.

But there is a depth to it—one of absolutely righteous anger at the state of the world—as seen through the microcosm of her beloved garden. The rage never overtakes the story, but a simmering tension reminds us of what needs to be done.

The fact that she has a passionate relationship with hedgehogs, too, is just icing on a delicious cake!

By Kate Bradbury,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked One Garden Against the World as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'If you ever doubted that you can help change the world, READ THIS BOOK.' CAROLINE LUCAS 'The greatest existential crisis we face distilled into the crucible of a tiny piece of paradise.' CHRIS PACKHAM Five years after writing her first nature memoir, The Bumblebee Flies Anyway, Kate Bradbury has a new garden. It's busy: home to all sorts of wildlife, from red mason bees and bumblebees to house sparrows, hedgehogs and dragonflies. It seems the entire frog population of Brighton and Hove breeds in her small pond each spring, and now there are toads here, too. On summer evenings, Kate…


Book cover of How the Sea Came to Be: And All the Creatures in It

Charlotte Gunnufson Author Of Dream Submarine

From my list on exploring the ocean for children.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a children’s book author who is awed by the ocean and the creatures that dwell in its depths. I love writing for kids because they’re unabashedly eager, enthusiastic, and curious! To write this book, I dove deep into researching information about the ocean. The more I learned, the more I wanted to know. I kept thinking, kids will love these fascinating facts and they’ll want to learn more. The wonderful books on this list tell amazing tales, take kids on adventures, and turn dry facts into a deluge of fun. These nonfiction stories offer kids opportunities to become immersed in our awesome ocean!

Charlotte's book list on exploring the ocean for children

Charlotte Gunnufson Why did Charlotte love this book?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and believe young readers will, too!

It traces billions of years of ocean history from “when the Earth was young and new…so hot, rock melted and boiled,” through millennia of marvelous creatures, to the present day with children exploring the shore. In eminently readable rhyme, it conveys an impressive amount of information in an interesting and accessible way.

One of the best parts of the books is in the back: an ingeniously illustrated timeline. Illustrations are dynamic and dramatic, some literally exploding with color and action. They are a joy to look at and will certainly help kiddos understand the science concepts presented.

By Jennifer Berne, Amanda Hall (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked How the Sea Came to Be as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 6, 7, 8, and 9.

What is this book about?

The New York Public Library Best Books for Kids List (2023)

A lyrical, spectacular history of the ocean—from its dramatic evolutionary past to its marvelously biodiverse present.

“For millions of years these first bits of life
Became more, and then more, and then more.”

Long, long ago, when the Earth was young and new, the world was a fiery place. Volcanoes exploded from deep down below, and steamy, hot clouds rose up high. Rain poured down for thousands of years, filling the world’s very first oceans. There the teeniest stirrings of life began. Earth’s creatures grew bigger and bigger, evolving…


Book cover of Making A Killing: The Political Economy of Animal Rights

Stacy Hoult Author Of The Mythology of the Animal Farm in Children's Literature: Over the Fence

From my list on inspire compassion for farmed animals.

Why am I passionate about this?

Growing up on a small family farm in the Midwest, I was immersed in a world of animals: pets, free-ranging wildlife, and “food” animals (pigs and cows). As an adult and academic professional, I longed for a way to bridge my vocation (teaching college students and writing about literature) and my deep commitment to the care and stewardship of all beings. These books have opened my eyes to the lived experiences of farmed animals and to the mythologies we use to hide these experiences from ourselves and, especially, our children. I hope you find them as moving and insightful as I do!

Stacy's book list on inspire compassion for farmed animals

Stacy Hoult Why did Stacy love this book?

I admire how Torres traces his own process of awakening to the realities of industrial farming, from the happy farm life he had been led to imagine to the brutal exploitation that makes animals themselves and their products into commodities for human consumption. His account is both deeply personal and unflinching in its uncovering of the hidden production methods that most of us would prefer not to see.

My Marxian-inflected approach to seeing animals both as products and as their own laboring class was heavily influenced by this powerful book and its focus on lived experiences that are the polar opposite of what children's books typically portray. 

By Bob Torres,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Making A Killing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Suggest to the average leftist that animals should be part of broader liberation struggles and—once they stop laughing—you'll find yourself casually dismissed. With a focus on labor, property, and the life of commodities, Making a Killing contains key insights into the broad nature of domination, power, and hierarchy. It explores the intersections between human and animal oppressions in relation to the exploitative dynamics of capitalism. Combining nuts-and-bolts Marxist political economy, a pluralistic anarchist critique, as well as a searing assessment of the animal rights movement, Bob Torres challenges conventional anti-capitalist thinking and convincingly advocates for the abolition of animals in…


Book cover of Personhood

Jess Bowers Author Of Horse Show

From my list on animal lovers who are also history geeks.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a fiction writer and animal studies scholar, I’m always looking for strange historical anecdotes about human/animal relationships and literary works that help me view humanity’s complex historical relationship with our fellow creatures through fresh eyes. As these books show, whenever humans write about animals, we also write about personhood, bodily autonomy, coexistence, partnership, symbiosis, spectacle, sentience, and exploitation—themes perpetually relevant to what it means to be human!

Jess' book list on animal lovers who are also history geeks

Jess Bowers Why did Jess love this book?

Grounded in philosophy and law, Thalia Field’s book explores how human/animal relationships are codified by human systems. Like Field’s other ecocritical work, this one is formally bold, blurring the lines between lyric essay and poetry.

I am particularly intrigued by 'Happy/That You Have The Body (The Mirror Test),' where Field uses the legal concept of habeas corpus and the Mirror Self-Recognition test to discuss the rights of a captive elephant named Happy, isolated from her own kind for 40 years.

This book is exactly the kind of animal writing I love because each piece asks loudly why “some animals are more equal than others.”

By Thalia Field,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Personhood as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Whether investigating refugee parrots, indentured elephants, the pathetic fallacy, or the revolving absurdity of the human role in the "invasive species crisis," Personhood reveals how the unmistakable problem between humans and our nonhuman relatives is too often the derangement of our narratives and the resulting lack of situational awareness. Building on her previous collection, Bird Lovers, Backyard, Thalia Field's essayistic investigations invite us on a humorous, heartbroken journey into how people attempt to control the fragile complexities of a shared planet. The lived experiences of animals, and other historical actors, provide unique literary-ecological responses to the exigencies of injustice and…


Book cover of The Dreaded Comparison: Human and Animal Slavery

David Livingstone Smith Author Of Making Monsters: The Uncanny Power of Dehumanization

From my list on dehumanization and the impact of this phenomenon.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have an international reputation as an expert on dehumanization. I have researched this subject for the past fifteen years, and have written three books and many articles, and given many talks on it, including a presentation at the 2012 G20 economic summit. I believe that dehumanization is an extremely important phenomenon to understand, because it fuels the worst atrocities that human beings inflict upon one another. If phrases like "never again" have any real meaning, we need to seriously investigate the processes, including dehumanization, that make such horrific actions possible.

David's book list on dehumanization and the impact of this phenomenon

David Livingstone Smith Why did David love this book?

To properly understand dehumanization—which represents human beings as subhuman creatures—it is important to recognize our less-than-humane relations with other animals.  In this compact, vividly-written book, Marjorie Spiegel powerfully juxtaposes the oppressive and cruel treatment of enslaved people with the terrible treatment of nonhuman animals. The book is largely concerned with the dehumanization of enslaved Africans and their descendants, but it is also pertinent to other episodes of racial dehumanization.

By Marjorie Spiegel,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Dreaded Comparison as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Considered a seminal book in the fields of Bioethics and Human-Animal
Studies, and a classic in the field of humane thought, Marjorie
Spiegel's The Dreaded Comparison makes a significant contribution to
our efforts to understand the roots of individual and societal
violence, tying current cultural practices to the legacy of human
bondage, and introducing new and diverse audiences to the history of
slavery and institutionalized racism in the United States.

Spanning history, psychology, and current events-- and ground-breaking
for its thesis which presents the first in-depth exploration of the
similarities between the violence humans have wrought against other
humans, and…


Book cover of The Cupcake Caper

Denise Swanson Author Of Murder of a Smart Cookie

From my list on feel good mysteries.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a former school psychologist and author of over 45 books, I love reading about characters that are likable, plots that are believable, and settings that I want to visit. My years as a psychologist make it easy to spot poorly written characters that don’t ring true. It is also my years as a psychologist that makes me enjoy a light, humorous read with a guaranteed happy ending.

Denise's book list on feel good mysteries

Denise Swanson Why did Denise love this book?

This first book in Kelle Riley’s new series has it all—a plot full of twists and turns, a super-smart sleuth, and just a smidge of romance. I love that the sleuth doesn't act impulsively and instead observes and deduces. In addition, there are yummy recipes, a cranky rescue cat, and several quirky secondary characters. I especially like the couple who own a dog bakery and their trained dog that discourages the goose population.

By Kelle Z. Riley,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Cupcake Caper as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Science is about solving puzzles. Why should solving a murder be any different?Dr. Bree Watson (aka Gabriella Catherine Mayfield-Watson) is comfortable solving chemistry problems. She isn’t comfortable finding her boss dead and being a suspect in his poisoning. Now she’s juggling: •A sexy marketing manager—who may, or may not—be a contract killer. •A handsome lead detective whose interest goes beyond the case. •The dead man’s cranky cat. •A goose-chasing dog in hot water with an animal rights group. •The search for the perfect cupcake recipe. •And, of course, someone who wants her out of the picture.And she thought getting a…


Book cover of The Case for Animal Rights

Cary Wolfe Author Of What Is Posthumanism?

From my list on philosophy, ethics, animals, and us.

Why am I passionate about this?

Before there was an interdisciplinary academic field called “Animal Studies,” I was involved in these issues as an animal rights activist. Back then, the question of the animal was not taken seriously in academia as a free-standing problem (like gender or sexuality or race). It was important to me to build that—not just to take seriously the lives of animals, but also to show how the animal issue opens onto a much broader set of fundamental questions about the human and its place in relation to ecology, technology, and the non-human world. That’s why the book series I founded is devoted not to Animal Studies, but to Posthumanism.

Cary's book list on philosophy, ethics, animals, and us

Cary Wolfe Why did Cary love this book?

Peter Singer’s Animal Liberation is usually taken to be the founding philosophical text for the animal rights movement, but I think Tom Regan’s The Case for Animal Rights presents the more compelling, more multi-dimensional argument.

Where Singer grounds moral standing in the fundamental interest in avoiding suffering, Regan foregrounds the “inherent value” of being the “experiencing subject of a life,” for whom avoiding suffering is only part of the question.

There’s plenty of disagreement about whether the rights framework is the best way to think about our moral duties to animals (cf. Derrida above). And Regan’s position is available in less rigorous and scholarly form in some of his other books. But for the full walk-through of the best argument for animal rights, this is the text.

By Tom Regan,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Case for Animal Rights as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

More than twenty years after its original publication, The Case for Animal Rights is an acknowledged classic of moral philosophy, and its author is recognized as the intellectual leader of the animal rights movement. In a new and fully considered preface, Regan responds to his critics and defends the book's revolutionary position.


Book cover of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
Book cover of Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead
Book cover of In the Shadow of Man

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Animal Rights 21 books
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