Writing this review later because this book stuck with me more than I expected it to? Definitely altered my perspective in terms of how I think about animal issues. 

The chapters on cockfighting and research mice were excellent, both in their detailed and personal lens and in the ethical/philosophical arguments they make, and obviously where the author spent the most time and research. But other chapters were either half-baked in the reporting effort or just based on stereotypes and the author's own prejudices. Especially two sections: the one on gender differences in caring about animals, in which the author succumbs to "Bell Curve" thinking rather than making an actual point; and the one where he talks about Asian attitudes toward dog meat. The author is totally fine with graphic descriptions of animal butchery and death in Western culture, but he plays coy with the descriptions of animal butchery in Korean culture, seemingly out of a desire to titillate and shock. "You can also buy packs of 'digested dogmeat.' (I am not sure what this is.) A medicinal tonic... is also produced from dogs. You don't want to know how it is made." Gasp! I just couldn't bear to learn about those poor puppies, even though we heard in detail about the grotesque fates of neurological lab mice and broiler chickens in previous chapters. The author seems to be succumbing to the very biases he's trying to explore.