Savvy PETA showman provokes with humor

Sarah Peasley, Special to the Rocky

Friday, April 13, 2007

Committed: A Rabble-Rouser's Memoir

• Nonfiction. By Dan Mathews. Atria Books, $24.Grade: A

Book in a nutshell: Mathews has appeared in public nearly naked, dressed as a carrot and, in Denver once, in full bovine regalia at a meat trade meeting. But beneath the silly costumes or disguises he dons to infiltrate "the enemy," this savvy showman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) steals the spotlight and never loses sight of his goal: to educate and influence the public.

Mathews' memoir opens with his destitute childhood with an animal-loving single mom, a family "more Munsters than Waltons." This gay, fat kid who is pummeled by bullies turns vegetarian at 16, drops 40 pounds and becomes a rebel with a cause. He soon puts his 6-foot-5 frame, movie-star looks and natural tendency to clown to work for PETA, first making the cause hip by teaming up with rock stars, then targeting the fashion industry. After provoking a riot at a Paris KFC, he is admitted to a psychiatric ward and forced to prove his sanity - in French (thus the book's title).

Best tidbit: Mathews notes that as cable TV molded an audience "hungrier for entertainment than education," PETA was forced to switch from campaigns that appealed to the intellect to "flashier ways to vie for people's attention. Little by little we had to boil the brains out of many of our efforts. But by changing with the tabloid times and using provocative vaudevillian tactics, PETA soon earned a name for itself as one of the most enduring, annoying, and influential pressure groups in the world."

Pros: Mathews and his clever hi-jinx are the scourge of the meat and fur industries, but his sweet, campy memoir works because his concern for animals is sincere. In addition, Mathews' friendships with sympathetic fashion designers give an insightful look at how personal connections can further a cause.

Cons: Mathews doesn't defend PETA against accusations the organization puts emotion before facts, supports extremist groups, objectifies women with its "Lettuce Ladies" and "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" campaign, or obstructs medical progress by opposing animal research.

Final word: Briskly paced, funny and self-deprecating, Committed is introspective and informative, without being preachy or too graphic.