08/31/2020
Journalist Garfield (In Miniature), the loving owner of “elderly gentleman” Labrador retriever Ludo, delivers a charming look at the human-canine relationship. In attempting to uncover how humans went from “hunting with the Eurasian wolf... to buying an electrically heated day-bed for the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel,” Garfield examines how dogs have figured into art, literature, and politics throughout history, and their significance as subjects in genetic research today. Garfield has a knack for entertaining asides; the look at dogs in art detours into an anecdote on David Hockney, a dachshund devotee, though he admits his own were “tricky sitters” and “not hugely interested in art.” For literature, Garfield discusses dog-loving authors such as Virginian Woolf (“Was there anything didn’t know about dogs?”) and P.G. Wodehouse, who favored Pekingese and concluded that “dogs say things which the human ear can’t hear.” Elsewhere, readers will accompany Garfield to Crufts, a British dog show—and the world’s largest. Garfield’s affectionate and amusing “celebration of dogs in all their intelligence, curiosity, beauty and loyalty” will be a hit with dog-loving readers. (Nov.)
"In this well-researched and absorbing narrative, written with the same enthusiasm that characterized Just My Type and On the Map, Garfield explores the human-dog relationship with humor, intelligence, and warmth. ... A dog fancier's delight." — Kirkus Reviews
"If you have a dog in your life, Simon Garfield’s Dog’s Best Friend will make you laugh with recognition, cry at the pity of it all, and leave you feeling like you’ve just had your belly rubbed. As refreshing and restorative as a good walk." — D. D. Guttenplan, Editor, The Nation
"A witty celebration of the long-lasting dog/human relationship." — The Times (UK)
"Wryly written, with footnotes that are a treat in themselves, this will be happily devoured by all readers who love dogs." — Booklist
"A glorious new celebration of man's best friend. ... [A] moving and invigorating study of all things canine." — Daily Mail (UK)
"Will be happily devoured by all readers who love dogs." — Booklist
"Witty, probing, and spot-on. … With emotional acuity, Dog’s Best Friend leaves the reader acknowledging that Canis lupus familiaris will always be a mixed bag of ancestry and characters while maintaining an unflinching connection with us.” — American Kennel Club
"A personal, charming look at our relationship with dogs throughout history." — The Goshen News
“Dog’s Best Friend is as fascinating, funny and wise as we've come to expect from Simon Garfield. More than that, it's a book that asks profound questions about what it means to be canine.” — ANDY MILLER, author of The Year of Living Dangerously
“A fascinating, informative and highly entertaining expedition through the highways and byways of dogdom.” — JOHN BRADSHAW, New York Times bestselling author of Dog Sense
"Entertaining, insightful." — Oneonta Daily Star
"This engaging study, by turns wry, ironic and poignant, goes from prehistory to now. By the end – even though the dog comes when you call – you wonder who really is in charge." — Sydney Morning Herald
Dog’s Best Friend is as fascinating, funny and wise as we've come to expect from Simon Garfield. More than that, it's a book that asks profound questions about what it means to be canine.”
"Wryly written, with footnotes that are a treat in themselves, this will be happily devoured by all readers who love dogs."
"A witty celebration of the long-lasting dog/human relationship."
A fascinating, informative and highly entertaining expedition through the highways and byways of dogdom.”
"Witty, probing, and spot-on. … With emotional acuity, Dog’s Best Friend leaves the reader acknowledging that Canis lupus familiaris will always be a mixed bag of ancestry and characters while maintaining an unflinching connection with us.
"A glorious new celebration of man's best friend. ... [A] moving and invigorating study of all things canine."
"If you have a dog in your life, Simon Garfield’s Dog’s Best Friend will make you laugh with recognition, cry at the pity of it all, and leave you feeling like you’ve just had your belly rubbed. As refreshing and restorative as a good walk."
"A personal, charming look at our relationship with dogs throughout history."
"Entertaining, insightful."
"This engaging study, by turns wry, ironic and poignant, goes from prehistory to now. By the end – even though the dog comes when you call – you wonder who really is in charge."
"Wryly written, with footnotes that are a treat in themselves, this will be happily devoured by all readers who love dogs."
"If you have a dog in your life, Simon Garfield’s Dog’s Best Friend will make you laugh with recognition, cry at the pity of it all, and leave you feeling like you’ve just had your belly rubbed. As refreshing and restorative as a good walk."
2020-08-27
A British journalist and nonfiction writer explores the "rich, diverse, perplexing and complicated" relationship between humans and canines.
Garfield wrote this book to answer one question: How did humans go from hunting with the wolf ancestors of modern dogs to pampering them with everything from "furs and bejeweled collars" to "electrically heated daybed[s]"? The human-canine relationship began roughly 15,000 years ago when human beings "settled in permanent places and threw things out.” The bond between them grew so strong that scientists have hypothesized that certain dog features, such as expressive eyebrows, emerged as a result of "natural selection based on the preferences of humans.” Personalizing dogs was an accepted practice as far back as the ancient Greeks. But where the Greeks gave them names to describe "temperament or ability,” owners in modern European countries like Britain and France tend toward giving human names like Alfie, Bella, or Marcel, as though to emphasize their humanness. Cultures have long celebrated dogs in literature and art and made them the subject of spectacles like dog shows and track racing. However, such modern trends as breeding "designer dog[s]” and the penchant to anthropomorphize them—as suggested by William Wegman’s portraits of Weimaraner dogs in "all manner of human garb"—suggest a darker side to dog love: Human affection for canines may be "spilling over into disrespect…[and] exploitation,” and it may also be taking away from their animality, which is part of their appeal. In this well-researched and absorbing narrative, written with the same enthusiasm that characterized Just My Type and On the Map, Garfield explores the human-dog relationship with humor, intelligence, and warmth. The author also wisely reminds readers that it is the very "dogness" of canines that brings out the best in human beings and binds them to a "wider world…of responsibility and sociability."
A dog fancier's delight.
