Year End
Dog Books - Books for Dogs, about Dogs, and with Dogs
Another
year has come and gone and, listening to NPR reminds us here at DogEvals that
we need to talk about “The Year in Dog Books.” In 2016, DogEvals posted 48 book/DVD
reviews, 44 of them about dogs, and 4 of the non-dog type that we just couldn’t
resist reading – and when we read, we review! (We also posted about and
compared new and wonderful leashes and events and other ‘things’ of the ‘K9
Kind!’)
It’s hard
to read only books published in the current year (many are published late in
the year), and we never manage to do just that for several reasons. Added to
that dilemma are the reviews written in the past and then misplaced - only to
be found in 2016! (Canine Behavior, for one. Our apologies.)
But enough
excuses. Here is our list of books in approximate order of merit and by
category. Enjoy!
Today’s
category: Pre-2016 Dog Books
Next: 2015-16 Dog Books
Pre-2016 Dog Books
The Lost Dogs: Michael Vick’s Dogs
and Their Tale of Rescue and Redemption, by Jim Gorant ($26, 2010, 304 pages, Gotham Books)
Gorant’s well-researched gripping
tale of the Michael Vick dog-fighting dogs who become family dogs – and what
happened to Vick.
Lovely, helpful book about helping
your hyper dog.
Canine Behavior, A Photo IllustratedHandbook, by
Barbara Handelman, Woof and Word Press, 350 pp, 2009, about 50$ (www.WoofandWordPress.com)
A reference book to learn from as
you learn to read, understand, and communicate with your dog.
Pound for Pound: A Story of OneWoman’s Recovery and the Shelter Dogs Who Loved Her Back to Life, by Shannon Kopp (William
Morrow, 2015, 307 pages, $25.99)
A book you will stay up all night to
finish. About a bulimic woman who devotes her life to shelter dogs and gets
better as a result. Full of love, especially for pit bull devotees.
I Could Chew on This: And OtherPoems by Dogs, by
Francesco Marciuliano (Chronicle Books, 112 pages, 2013, $12.95)
Also, poems by cats. Also calendars!
Some of these are great photos and poems.
You either love The New Yorker cartoons or you like a few of them.
Wallace: The Underdog Who Conquereda Sport, Saved a Marriage, and Championed Pit Bulls – One Flying Disc at a Time, by Jim Gorant (Gotham Books, 256
pages, 2012, $26)
By the Sports Illustrated author of the enthralling Lost Dogs, Wallace is about Wallace, a shelter dog who becomes a
champion and saves a marriage, but Wallace
just can’t measure up to Lost Dogs –
maybe no book can.
The story behind the classic movies
and TV series both of which are great murder mysteries solved by a high-society
couple in the 30s and their dog, Asta. Plenty of fast talk.
Dog Tricks, Step by Step, by Mary Ann Zeigenfuse and Jan
Walker (Howell Book House, 135 pages, 1997/2009, $19.95)
An early book on the topic.
If you like The New Yorker style of writing. Many poems, letters and other
shorts about dogs.
The Yellow Dog: An Inspector Maigret Mystery, by Georges
Simenon (written in 1931, translated from the French and reprinted by Penguin
Classic in 2013, 134 pages, $10.00)
May be termed a classic but it takes
a fan to read this one.
Dog, Inc,: The Uncanny Inside Storyof Cloning Man’s Best Friend, by John Woestendiek (Avery Publishing, 2011, 320 pages,
$26) (Current cover subtitle: How a
Collection of Visionaries, Rebels, Eccentrics and Their Pets Launched the
Commercial Dog Cloning Industry)
Dog cloning could be an interesting
topic but this book relates the underside and is hard to follow.
