It's finally here, 15 years after its inception, the story our Government did not want told!

Written by former ALF organiser, Keith Mann, From Dusk 'til Dawn is a detailed account of the advance of the Animal Liberation Movement from historic thinkers to the English hunt saboteurs of the 1960's, from the Animal Liberation Front of the 1970's and 80's to the focussed campaigners of the 1990's, including their global reach, and the dramatic state response to it all.

Agree with him or not it is surely to be encouraged that the pen has taken the place of the boltcutters for one man. It's a powerful story, cleverly constructed by an insider often described by the media as an extremist, once even as a monster. His book, which was fifteen years in the making, was born during a lengthy prison sentence for Animal Liberation Front campaigns. His escape from custody in 1994 nearly scuppered the project but his determination to document the growth of the animal liberation movement ensured its completion, and what an incredible and gripping story he has to tell.

Endorsed by Morrissey, and with a foreword from Benjamin Zephaniah, From Dusk 'til Dawn is a must-read for anyone wishing to understand why people break the law to protect animals from exploitation.

From the back cover:

We hear an awful lot about those they call animal extremists, but who are they? What makes them tick? Why are they apparently so angry? They've raided fur farms and released the animals, they've desecrated graves and they've threatened to kill. Or some have. Indeed people have been killed but not as you might imagine by bombs and bullets. The truth however, as this book reveals, is just as disturbing.

Keith Mann has been as deep into the secretive world of the Animal Liberation Front as anyone. A long term activist, in 1994 he was sent to prison for 11 years for campaigns of sabotage and arson. Spectacularly he planned and executed a prison escape and went on the run. More recently he and his fellow raiders broke into an animal laboratory and exposed ongoing cosmetic testing taking place in the UK. He was sent to prison again.

From Dusk 'til Dawn is not only a powerful personal incite into the actions of the ALF, but the Animal Liberation Movement more generally. The author takes the reader on a journey through the ups and downs of life as an activist on the front line of the greatest liberation struggle of our time. It's a fascinating story as yet untold, until now.

Endorsement by Morrissey

As an animal protectionist, even I feel humbled and useless when I read of Keith Mann's life and risks. No matter who says what, it is such as Keith who are the real heroes of modern society. There can be nothing brave about going to Iraq to kill Iraqi civilians - stay here, in England, and face the slaughterhouses of the Death Industry - and their factory farms and their torture laboratories of dread. The Daily Mail terms pro-vivisectionists as 'boffins'and denounces anti-torture activists as 'extremists' - thankfully some of us aren't so dim.

How vicious life would be without visionaries such as Keith, and the bravery and unified vision of the ALF. One way or another books such as Keith's make us more aware of ourselves because they tell us what we are - or aren't - doing to help other beings. That so many corporations and power-maniacs openly and eagerly despise animal rights activists is evidence of the guilt of those corporations. What else could it be?

MORRISSEY March 2007

Foreword by Benjamin Zephaniah

Keith Mann’s name is in many minds synonymous with the ALF. I first came across him when I was dedicating a lot of time to supporting prisoners and the animal rights movement. He was brought to my attention because he was both a prisoner and an animal rights activist. Having never met him, and armed with only a photo of him, I joined his supporters in regular letter writing and the lobbying of MPs on his behalf.

Having served time in prison as an ALF activist, Mann is something of a cause célèbre in the global animal rights movement for his uncompromising stance on the issue of animal exploitation. Eminently personable, he never attempts to paint himself as anything other than what he is - a cheeky and affable Mancunian lad, with an overriding desire to see an end to the suffering of animals. I first met him on a demonstration and I thought it was going to be one of those mystical experiences, like you get when you meet Nelson Mandela, but all I got from him was a piece of vegan cake and a leaflet about another demo. It is this passion that has motivated him to break unjust laws. It informs his actions and his life choices, and it is this passion that speaks to us when we read From Dusk 'til Dawn, his first book.

Those who know the author personally will recognise the often chatty, anecdotal style in his writing, which is conversational and not restricted by the ‘house style’ of a publisher worried about the bottom line. It allows you to read this book from cover to cover or dip into it at leisure, though its subject matter and sheer scale do not make it easy bedtime reading.

Mann is a natural storyteller, with a hell of a story to tell. It does not end happily ever after, nor does it offer glib solutions to the tyranny of oppression. What it does offer is hope, and that is its feel-good factor. As the book’s title suggests, it provides a background to the dawning of a new consciousness, though it also gives a knowing wink to the reader who recognises that the hours before dawn are the hours when most direct actions take place.

The history of what we would consider the modern animal rights movement is barely 100 years old; it is a movement still in its infancy. This book is a part of that unfolding history. In my humble opinion there have been times when the animal rights movement has lost its way, when sections of it have got bogged down in what are almost academic arguments about language or image, or even personalities. At times like these we tend to forget about what the struggle is really about and begin to sound like bureaucratic hippies. This book reminds us why we are here. Sometimes being able to look back helps in seeing the way forward. Knowing your roots can promote your growth. Agree with Mann or not, you cannot fail to be moved by his moral arguments and his appeal to the humanity that potentially resides in us all to work towards rebuilding a world on the principles of true equality with life itself being the yardstick.