Book Reviews

Vegetarian Europe is the latest publication from Vegetarian Guides. They also publish Vegetarian France, Vegetarian Britain, and Vegetarian London. I used the latter two when I traveled to the UK last year and found them very valuable.

Vegetarian Europe is especially helpful for those traveling to major cities and tourist destinations. Cities covered include Salzburg, Vienna, Brussels, Prague, Copenhagen, Lon-don, Liverpool, Oxford, Helsinki, Paris, Berlin, Frankfort, Hamburg, Munich, Bremen, Athens, Budapest, Cork, Dublin, Florence, Lake Garda, Milan, Rome, Umbria, Venice, Am-sterdam, Oslo, Bergen, Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk, Evora, Lisbon, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Edinburgh, Alicante, Barcelona, Granada, Madrid, Malaga, Valencia, Stockholm, Malmo, and Zurich. Because the editors know London so well, there is a wealth of information about this city.

There are many different contributors, each offering advice for the particular regions they are familiar with. The tone is friendly, and attempts to convey the practical advice a vegetarian traveler needs. There is a variety of travel tips scattered throughout the guide, including helpful phrases peppered throughout the guide for ordering, such as "Mi ne jedemo meso, kokos I ribu," which translates to "We don't eat meat, chicken, or fish" in Croatian. There are also many sidebars with translations of local and common foods, common questions, and conversational words. Also included is information for local vegetarian groups in many of the countries.

While this guide isn't completely comprehensive (which would be a monumental task), this relatively lightweight guide would be a very helpful companion to anyone planning a trip to Europe.

The Vegetarian Revolution

By Giorgio Cerquetti

Giorgio Cerquetti recalls the words of Victor Hugo when expressing the importance of his book, The Vegetarian Revolution: "There is one thing stronger than all the armies of the world and that is an idea whose time has come." Cerquetti labels his book, "a call to arms," arms that are sympathetic to nature and are ready to embrace a loving revolution. I do agree that this time is upon us, but this won't be everyone's guidebook to joining the revolution. On page 4, he states that "vegetarianism is a viable alternative for those who find veganism extreme, personally and/or socially." Perhaps he should re-phrase; wouldn't it seem that a vegan is a vegetarian, that one is a subset of the other? Upon a first reading, I felt insulted, as if this book was not written for vegans, since he called them too extreme. This is not the only place that might do more damage than good for the cause of the revolution. This book relies on amalgamations of random quotations, often lacking clear sources, and indices of statistics that have no associated studies and no documented sources.

The free-flowing writing is full of energy and desire for change, and his arguments are often quite convincing. I'm moved by the style and sense he makes throughout the book. However, much of the work he does in his commentary is negated by the use of quotations by mercurial sources such as Faith Popcorn, trend-spotter to the stars, who has, since publication of this book, renounced vegetarianism and come out against it. And you can't very well quote the Bible as a reliable argument for vegetarianism when you know that animal sacrifice and carnivorous feasts appear on the pages you didn't quote.

I want to like this book. I think a book like this, with clear arguments, a great deal of passion, and, indeed, a call to arms, needs to be written. As it stands, The Vegetarian Revolution is the epitome of its genre: soft science and lots of opinion, a combination which persuades none but the already converted. Perhaps in a cleaner, tighter second edition, he will have an appendix, endnotes, and quotations from people and sources which will give the movement additional credibility and will move those who don't already practice mindful compassion.