Book Review Introduction

In this issue of the journal we highlight four books addressing animals and climate change. Dr. Stephen Crocco, Director of the Library at Yale Divinity School, reviews David Clough’s large two-volume work, On Animals, which brings both systematic theology and theological ethics to bear on the ways Christian human animals live with non-human animals who are also groaning for redemption. Clough focuses on the use of animals for human food, particularly the devastating impacts of factory farming on the environment, animals, and humans whose job it is to slaughter and process them.

Renowned visual artist and scholar Seitu Jones reviews Alexis Rockman: The Great Lakes Cycle which is the companion book to the art exhibit of Rockman’s suite of monumental paintings depicting the history and future of the Great Lakes – home to 20% of the earth’s fresh water. Rockman’s scientifically researched and aesthetically compelling images strike the viewer with visual immediacy – conveying the beauty and devastation of water ecosystems at risk. Plants, animals, and human community interact in a fragile web that is threatened by climate change and fighting for its life.

Philanthropist, artist and community leader, Carolyn Roby reviews Photo Ark, Vanishing: The World’s Most Vulnerable Animals, portraits of endangered animals now cared for in human institutions. Nancy Arnison, theologian and international human rights lawyer contributes to the review of this informative, beautiful and disturbing book of photography.