This is Ryan, trying out a new “Quotes” feature on the blog. Let’s hope it works!

These quotes are from the book:

1. (There is a lot in the book that talks about how zoos are actually not so bad; I’m not sure how to square this with a lot of what humanity in general thinks about zoos, but it is interesting fodder for thought or debate. In any case, here he’s been talking about how many animals are actually more comfortable in zoos): “If you went to a home, kicked down the front door, chased the people who lived there out into the street and said, ‘Go! You are free! Free as a bird! Go! Go!’–do you think they would shout and dance for joy? The wouldn’t. Birds are not free. The people you’ve just evicted would sputter, ‘With what right do you throw us out? This is our home. We own it. We have lived here for years. We’re calling the police, you scoundrel.’”

2. (I wanted a quote that was representative of the role religion played in the book. But I forgot to mark one, so I’ll have to go with this completely different one instead): “I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he’s not careful.”