dog's best friend. A wholesome book reviewed by duffythewriter

If you follow my Instagram, you’ll see that when I’m not posting about books, I’m posting photos of my cat. You may well be right in thinking that I’m a slightly mental cat lady, but I’m also a mad dog person. Dog’s have been a huge part of Duff family life and each dog we have had has become a treasured family member.

A Dog’s Best Friend was the perfect antidote to the end of one long crappy year. Simon Garfield writes with a great sense of humour, and razor-sharp observation. I loved exploring this special bond between humans and dogs and all the celebrity and important historical dogs who have contributed to our deep love for our loyal four-legged friends.

A wholesome, uplifting and interesting read and the perfect book to set you up for a positive 2021!

Available from Booktopia and all good bookstores!

About Dog’s Best Friend

A wise, witty, alternative history of humanity, DOG’S BEST FRIEND reflects on how our relationship with dogs has changed over the centuries and explores the universal desire for non-human companionship

One of the first words we learn. Perhaps the best friend we’ll have. An animal so much part of our lives that we speak to it like a child and spend small fortunes on its wellbeing and wardrobe.

Dogs and humans: in the last 200 years no inter-species relationship has developed so fast nor come so far. Dogs accompany us in every walk of life, usually three times a day. How and why did this relationship begin? How has it changed over the centuries? And who’s getting the upper hand?Ā 

DOG’S BEST FRIEND investigates this unique bond by revisiting some of the most important milestones in our shared journey. It begins with the earliest visual evidence on ancient rock art, and ends at the laboratory that sequenced the first dog genome. En route we encounter the first Labradoodle in Australia, a misguidedly loyal Akita in Japan, an ill-fated Poodle trainer in the United States, and a hilariously disobedient Romanian rescue dog named Kratu at the Birmingham NEC. We will also meet Corgis and Dorgis at the Palace, the weightless mutniks of the Soviet space programme, a Dalmatian who impersonates Hitler, and an owner who claims his Border Collie can remember the names of more than a thousand soft toys.

If you own or once owned a dog, you will know that our relationship can be as rich, complicated and rewarding as the relationship we have with other humans, and the book reflects this diversity with the aid of trainers, breeders and psychologists. Above all, it explores the extraordinary ability of dogs to enhance so many aspects of our lives. DOG’S BEST FRIEND is as entertaining as it is informative, as eccentric as it is erudite, and all told with Simon Garfield’s irrepressible gift for witty and insightful storytelling.

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