What's a Dog For?: The Surprising History, Science, Philosophy, and Politics of Man's Best Friend by John Homans (Author). John Homans adopted his canine, Stella, from a shelter for all the standard reasons: fond reminiscences of dogs from his previous, a companion for his son, an excuse for long walks across the neighborhood. Soon sufficient, she is happily ensconced within the each day workings of his family. And not solely that: Stella is treated like a member of the family-in ways in which canines of his youth were not. Spending humanlike sums on vet payments, questioning her diet and train regimens, contemplating her happiness-how had this all come to cross, when the dogs from Homans’s childhood appeared fairly content material dwelling largely out in the yard?
In What’s a Dog For?, Homans explores the canine’s complex and outstanding place in our world and how it got here to be. Evolving from wild animals to working animals to nearly human members of our social fabric, dogs at the moment are the subject of significant scientific studies concerning pet ownership, evolutionary concept, and even cognitive science. From new insights into what makes canine so appealing to people to the well being benefits related to owning a canine, Homans investigates why the human-canine relationship has developed so quickly-how canine moved into our families, our homes, and generally even our beds in the span of a era, changing into a $fifty three billion business in the United States within the process.
As dogs take their place as coddled members of the family and their numbers balloon to greater than seventy-seven million within the United States alone, it’s no shock that canine culture at large can also be present process an enormous transformation. They are now topic to many of the same questions of rights and ethics as individuals, and the politics of canines are more tumultuous and public than ever- with fierce moral battles raging over kill shelters, pet mills, and breed standards. Incorporating interviews and research from scientists, activists, breeders, and trainers, What’s a Canine For? investigates how canine have reached this exalted standing and why they hold such fascination for us. With one paw within the animal world and one paw within the human world, it turns out they've a lot to show us about love, death, and morality-and in the end, in their closeness and distinction, about what it means to be human.
I'm extraordinarily biased, since the author was my editor (and was nearly one of the best and smartest editor there may be), however I feel I can still say with a point of objectivity that this is a particularly good book. It provides an historic and scientific foundation for what anybody who has ever beloved a canine already intuitively knows: that canines are people too. John (the writer) would hate that formulation (too mushy, touchy-feely), and that is why he wrote the e book as he did: as a thinker, philosopher, researcher, canine-master. But really, it is about why canines win our love; it is much less clear why they love us back... However that thriller makes us love all of them the more. It is also a pleasure to read a the writing of a author who can write actually well. I completely enjoyed it.
The author takes you on a journey of his dog possession, and on the historical past of how dogs and humans came to be such close companions. The book incorporates stories that every dog lover can relate to (are you able to say "my 4 legged kids"), and evaluation of the canine/human relationship, the breeding history of canines, and a discussion of the similarities and variations of canine and wolves.
John devotes a chapter to labs - my favorite canine - so I actually enjoyed the deal with labs. If you're not a lab proprietor, you'll nonetheless take pleasure in studying concerning the breed and the rules and ideas that governed how the canine from Newfoundland and Labrador have been bred.
I learn a number of dog books, and this is undoubtedly a should read!
What's a Dog For?: The Surprising History, Science, Philosophy, and Politics of Man's Best Friend
John Homans (Author)
272 pages
Penguin Press HC, The; 1 edition (November 8, 2012)
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