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Rating: 
Summary: Anti-Abortionist at Large
Review: A refreshing perspective on a complex and emotionally charged issue. The author walks the reader through the chronology of his career and life-long devotion to debating against abortion. Keeps the audience focused on the real issue of life and its unjust ending versus "choice" and emotion.
Rating:
Summary: Anti-Abortionist at Large
Review: A refreshing perspective on a complex and emotionally charged issue. The author walks the reader through the chronology of his career and life-long devotion to debating against abortion. Keeps the audience focused on the real issue of life and its unjust ending versus "choice" and emotion.
Rating:
Summary: anti-abortionist at large
Review: Drawing on his years of experience on platforms debating the abortion issue, Dennehy shares with the reader through a number of autobiographical incidents what it is like to go before various audiences, hostile and friendly, to make the case for defending the life of the preborn. A reader is impressed by Dennehy arguing on philosophical and biological, not religious grounds. This is something that has especially impressed those who have heard him speak; his argument is based on the principle of human life there in the womb from the beginning, not on the rhetoric of emotion. He makes a most convincing pro-life exponent.
Rating: 
Summary: Sound Advice for Debating Abortion
Review: For Dennehy, "how to argue intelligently about abortion" means what can one realistically expect to accomplish before a live audience in the space of a lecture: give them the minimal number of ideas that are necessary and sufficient to show the immorality of abortion. So he wisely explains how to argue that the mere probability that the fetus is a human being means that abortion implies a willingness to kill innocent human beings. The temptation is to try for more than that, which in that context would be self-defeating. The author's decision to write the book as an autobiographical account of "war stories" - against enemies on both sides of the abortion debate - makes the book down-to-earth, practical and an enjoyable read, despite his substantial academic credentials. Who says philosophers have their heads in the clouds?
Rating:
Summary: First rate book on the abortion issue
Review: I found this book to be extremely engaging, interesting, and substantive on the morality of abortion. Dennehy, a philosopher, writes for the general educated reader here, and the result is a very useful and practical book for those interested in the moral issues surrounding abortion. Dennehy presents strong and very clear philosophical (not religious) arguments against abortion, in addition to many great insights on the tactics of pro-abortionists for obfuscating the moral issues. He also replies to typical objections to his arguments with insight and clarity. There is much more besides this, including accounts of his many years debating abortion, and fascinating stories of how people have reacted to his arguments. I would recommend the book highly for all those who want a down to earth, and very clear, discussion of the arguments against abortion.
Rating: 
Summary: Doesn't deliver.
Review: Not as comprehensive as I'd hoped, instead of arming the reader, (as it promises in the title), with irrefutable material to pursuade others, it disintegrates into the author's sickly sweet sentimentality and personal experiences. Not a good primer for a pro-lifer to draw from...more of a pablum auto biography.
Rating:
Summary: The Inside Story of the Fight for Life
Review: This book is an adventure into what motivates, sustains, and illuminates the serious defender of innocent human lives, especially those tiny persons before birth.Philosophical insight marks every page of Dr. Dennehy's story of the conflict over legal abortion in the United States. It amounts to a history of the defense of human dignity and personhood over the past four decades. As someone with a background and experiences similar to Dennehy's over the same period of years, I can attest, from a mid-Westerner's perspective, to the validity and depth of his claims about the escapism and false rhetoric of the opponents of the right to life movement and about many other aspects of the struggle. His treatment of the abortion issue is developed in accord with classical natural law theory and is not an appeal to any particular religious belief. The book remarkably sets a calm, deliberate tone for the sincere seeker of truth, who will have little to do with sophistic, slick, emotional appeals. Anyone who is active in the pro-life/anti-abortion movement would find this book an absorbing and inspiring work of love and reason in the service of the truth. Those who are opposed to the anti-abortion position in the present debate will find, in Dennehy's dogged determination to clarify and illuminate the issues, grounds for increased respect for their opposition. The presentation is clear and engages the reader in his endeavor of refining common sense in order to discover meanings for defending babies who are the most defenseless of our human community. The title might bother pro-lifers. But the author, while he does not reject being called pro-life, likes to say in public that he is not pro-life, but anti-abortion. He calls the appellation short, clear, and emphatic. It gets attention and lets people know that he is dead set against the special evil of killing that abortion really is. Anti-Abortionist at Large is virtually a manual for speakers and advocates for the pre-birth child and the post-birth bearers of severe handicaps. Professor Dennehy constantly refers to his experiences, both positive and negative, in speaking before large groups. He conceives his book as an autobiography, an anecdotal history, a debate manual, and as a personal testament, in which he hopes to give witness to the gadfly of Athens, Socrates, by being the gadfly of the San Francisco Bay area. The work has been a long and lonely challenge, for the most part. And he speaks for many advocates when he says the silence from the Sunday pulpits has been "thunder in our ears."
The author is quite conversant with the work of some of the bigger theorists of the abortion movement, such as Judith Jarvis Thompson, Marianne Warren, and Michael Tooley. He chooses to dramatize his debate experiences with Dr. Marianne Warren. He also offers tips on how to relate to the usual speaker-types from Planned Parenthood, NARAL, ACLU, and other such organizations.
Many other aspects of pro-life, anti-abortion work are revealed. Dennehy became astute regarding the typical tactics of politicians as they dealt with the abortion issue and with pro-lifers. He gives examples of his efforts to write elected officials on the subject and compares it to fighting smog with a crowbar. Particular commentaries are included on the intransigence of legislators like Cranston and Edwards of California, and on the "demoralizing betrayal of Jesse Jackson." There are also bright spots, such as the courageous Presidential candidacy of pro-life advocate Ellen McCormack from New York. Various highlights and "lowlights" from the abortion struggles of the 60's and 70's are mentioned. Quite notable was the "landmark" editorial in the California Journal of Medicine (1970). Now called the Journal of Western Medicine, the editor wrote about "A New Ethic for Medicine and Society," remarkably claiming that the Judeo-Christian ethic was decaying and needed replacement. And, as I recall, the article admitted quite frankly that everyone knows human life begins at conception and that it was necessary to use rhetorical subterfuge in order to let people gradually become accustomed to the new ethic. He touches upon some of the critical legislative history of the year 1972, by which time the anti-abortion movement started to turn around the various legislatures. He mentions the overwhelming victories for the anti-abortion cause in the referenda that year held in North Dakota and Michigan. My recollection is that in 1972 not a single State fell for an abortion bill among the 33 States that entertained such legislation. Then the rug was pulled on the whole movement in January of 1973, when seven judges on the United States Supreme Court toppled the legal protection for pre-birth children throughout the nation. In the jaws of the holocaust that was unleashed, Dr. Dennehy patiently and persistently has continued to expose the deceptive messages that the abortion culture gives young people. In fact, he says that in his 36 years of debating abortion, he does not recall more than two who were willing, in any serious way, to address the fundamental question: Is the unborn baby a human being? The duplicity of the media is deftly dealt with, including observations such as how abortion proponents are being called "abortion rights" advocates in the same vein as one might refer to proponents of slavery as "slavery rights" advocates. He also duly notes the repressive behavior of the media in not showing photos and films of abortions, while indulging in many kinds of depiction of killing and mayhem in connection with warfare and street crime. And he cites various other ploys, conscious or unconscious, that serve to protect a "woman's right to choose" homicide for any one of her children at the peak of their vulnerability. In deeply regretting the violence of a small minority of so-called "pro-lifers" against abortionists and abortion centers, the author calmly notes that "respectable, law abiding" abortionists deliberately kill millions of innocent human beings, usually for profit. An abortionist today might be called a "good citizen," but, the author says, that it is not the same as being regarded as a "good human being," as Aristotle once observed and as the Nuremberg Court noted in 1946. In all of his speaking endeavors, Dennehy always tries to be sure that, after his presentation, the audience members never think the same way about abortion. He is determined to stay on message: Abortion is the direct killing of an innocent human being. Slowly but surely, this courageous speaker and author says, the trend in this country is going anti-abortion. But every day, week, month, and year thousands of babies die in the womb of a careless culture. People who care will want to read this book. It lays out a remarkably thoughtful path to peace with our most intimate neighbors-a path determined to end their silent screams.
Rating:
Summary: Definitely delivers!
Review: This is unquestionably one of the most enlightening, unusual, thought-provoking and original books that I have read in years. With so much of the public abortion debate in the hands of our so called media experts and academic opinion-makers, Professor Dennehy's honest and moving account of his 30 year defense of innocent, unborn babies forces all of us to question the assumptions and lies we have so easily embraced concerning one of the central issues of our time. And Dennehy minces no words when he says that "abortion is the bone in the throat of contemporary American society that slavery was in the 19th century." What happens in the following 200 pages is a fascinating, sometimes humorous, disturbing, but ultimately inspiring account of one courageous man's efforts to defend not only the innocent, but the values at the core of any decent culture: compassion and humanity. Dennehy has the intellect of a Socrates, the wit of a Jay Leno, and the overhand right of a Rocky Marciano, but he speaks to us over coffee at the kitchen table. With all there is to learn in this book the one thing I came away with more than anything else is a realization of how thorough the pro-abortion movement has succeeded in portraying people like Professor Dennehy and the pro-life movement as a threat to society when in fact they are indeed among the most compassionate and humane of all. Indeed, we learn how sophisticated and clever those in the pro-abortion movement have been in deflecting a serious consideration of their pro-death and cold-hearted agenda. In fact, we learn that in 1963 Planned Parenthood's official pamphlet noted that "an abortion kills the life of the baby after it has begun - birth control merely postpones the beginning of life." What happened in the last 40 years to transform Planned Parenthood from lovers of life into purveyors of death? How have they so easily convinced young women that their unborn babies are as disposable as a diaper? Why do they ignore the psychological effects that haunt these young women for years afterward? Professor Dennehy's fascinating and heart-pounding account of his years debating pro-abortion opponents in front of skeptical, sometimes hostile pro-abortion crowds at university campuses represents a college classroom in how to debate this issue with reason and honor in the face of overwhelming odds. It also represents a character study in courage and commitment. Chapter 7 on partial-birth abortion is one of the most shocking and moving essays I have ever read and it will bring any concerned reader to tears. Hopefully Professor Dennehy's inspirational book will seep into the fabric of our nation and warm enough hearts as well as convince enough minds, one by one, that yes, an unborn child is a human being.
Rating:
Summary: Definitely delivers!
Review: This is unquestionably one of the most enlightening, unusual, thought-provoking and original books that I have read in years. With so much of the public abortion debate in the hands of our so called media experts and academic opinion-makers, Professor Dennehy's honest and moving account of his 30 year defense of innocent, unborn babies forces all of us to question the assumptions and lies we have so easily embraced concerning one of the central issues of our time. And Dennehy minces no words when he says that "abortion is the bone in the throat of contemporary American society that slavery was in the 19th century." What happens in the following 200 pages is a fascinating, sometimes humorous, disturbing, but ultimately inspiring account of one courageous man's efforts to defend not only the innocent, but the values at the core of any decent culture: compassion and humanity. Dennehy has the intellect of a Socrates, the wit of a Jay Leno, and the overhand right of a Rocky Marciano, but he speaks to us over coffee at the kitchen table. With all there is to learn in this book the one thing I came away with more than anything else is a realization of how thorough the pro-abortion movement has succeeded in portraying people like Professor Dennehy and the pro-life movement as a threat to society when in fact they are indeed among the most compassionate and humane of all. Indeed, we learn how sophisticated and clever those in the pro-abortion movement have been in deflecting a serious consideration of their pro-death and cold-hearted agenda. In fact, we learn that in 1963 Planned Parenthood's official pamphlet noted that "an abortion kills the life of the baby after it has begun - birth control merely postpones the beginning of life." What happened in the last 40 years to transform Planned Parenthood from lovers of life into purveyors of death? How have they so easily convinced young women that their unborn babies are as disposable as a diaper? Why do they ignore the psychological effects that haunt these young women for years afterward? Professor Dennehy's fascinating and heart-pounding account of his years debating pro-abortion opponents in front of skeptical, sometimes hostile pro-abortion crowds at university campuses represents a college classroom in how to debate this issue with reason and honor in the face of overwhelming odds. It also represents a character study in courage and commitment. Chapter 7 on partial-birth abortion is one of the most shocking and moving essays I have ever read and it will bring any concerned reader to tears. Hopefully Professor Dennehy's inspirational book will seep into the fabric of our nation and warm enough hearts as well as convince enough minds, one by one, that yes, an unborn child is a human being.
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