The Ten Trusts: What We Must Do to Care for The Animals We Love

World-renowned behavioral scientists Jane Goodall and Marc Bekoff argue passionately and persuasively that if we put these ten trusts to work in our lives, the earth and all its inhabitants will be able to live together harmoniously. Simple yet profound, The Ten Trustswill not only change our perspective regarding how we live on this planet, it will establish our responsibilities as stewards of the natural world, ultimately showing us how to live with respect for all life.

Goodall and Bekoff share their experiences from living a life of compassion and a boundless ethic. Few people are as well known and respected as Jane Goodall, but she has never rested on her fame. Instead, she stepped away from her field research and beloved friends in Gombe National Park, not to build monetary wealth, but to share her wealth of knowledge with young and old alike through lectures and programs such as Roots and Shoots. While Bekoff has spent years educating a more humane youth at the University of Colorado, all while helping us to better understand and appreciate animal behavior.

Over the last two years the Bush administration has systematically deconstructed even basic protections for the environment in order to please corporate greed. The Ten Trusts talks about many issues, one of which will certainly reappear following recent elections, is the drilling for oil in Alaska's ANWR. Even though the American public is opposed to destroying the last pristine environment, the Administration hopes to lull us into a belief that it is needed.

This does not have to be. Goodall, who revolutionized how humans think about other species through her work with chimpanzees and Bekoff, who is a leader in showing us that the minds of animals are as unique and complex as ours, have concisely gathered a wonderful set of ethics into an easily readable book. A book that everyone should read because it shows how we really can and MUST be compassionate.