“An absolutely stunning book and an astonishing work of reporting. I love the complete honesty that suffuses it.”
— Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, author of The Dog Who Couldn’t Stop Loving
The Dogs of Avalon
The Race to Save Animals in Peril
After adopting an Irish sight hound, Laura Schenone discovers a remarkable and little-known fight to gain justice for dogs and for all animals.
Greyhounds, bred to be the fastest dogs on earth, are beautiful, gentle, and astonishing creatures. Yet for decades, countless numbers of them have been abandoned and destroyed every year once they can no longer compete and win.
The Dogs of Avalon introduces us to the strong-willed Marion Fitzgibbon, born in rural Ireland, where animals are valued for their utility. But Fitzgibbon believes suffering is felt by all creatures and champions the cause of strays, baffling those around her—including her family—as she, and a group of local women rescue any animal in need, taking on increasingly risky missions.
When Fitzgibbon becomes head of the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and takes on the cause of the greyhound, she faces an entrenched racing industry protected by money and power. She joins forces with an American greyhound activist, a foxhunter’s wife, a British Lady, and an influential German animal rescuer to create an international network to find these animals homes, confront the racing industry, and provide safe haven where animals can live in peace.
The Dogs of Avalon brings forward the people on the other side of the track—Irish Travellers (a people whose Celtic history goes back centuries), dogmen who hope to win big—plus a host of animals on two continents—circus tigers in Ireland, wild monkeys in the Yucatan, dolphins in a marine animal park in Florida, and one very special Irish sight hound in New Jersey named Lily.
In this potent David and Goliath story, Schenone’s journey helps us understand our deep connection to animals and gives us inspiration in the form of the unforgettable Marion Fitzgibbon, who grapples with compassion and activism and shows the difference we are all capable of making in the world.
[more about The Dogs of Avalon]
— Booklist
— Kirkus Reviews
— Marc Bekoff, author of The Animals’ Agenda
— Christina Baker Kline, New York Times bestselling author of Orphan Train and A Piece of the World
— Dale Russakoff, author of The Prize
— Gregory Berns, author of How Dogs Love Us
— Frans de Waal, author of Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?
The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken
Can a recipe change your life?
Award-winning author Laura Schenone goes on an quest to retrieve a long-lost family recipe, traveling from New Jersey's gritty industrial wastelands and the fast-paced disposable culture of its suburbs to the dramatically beautiful coast of Liguria
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A History of American Women Told through Food, Recipes, and Remembrances
A stunningly illustrated book that celebrates the power of food throughout American history and in women's lives. Filled with classic recipes and inspirational stories, A Thousand Years Over a Hot Stove will make you think twice about the food on your plate.
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