A Dog's History of America : How Our Best Friend Explored, Conquered, and Settled a Continent

Rating:
Summary: Dogs Make History
Review: "Dogs are here to stay because a great many people could not manage without them," says Mark Derr, and he is taking the long view. In _A Dog's History of America: How Our Best Friend Explored, Conquered, and Settled a Continent_ (North Point Press), Derr has tried to examine the thousands of years of American dogdom, with many surprises about what dogs have done for us and to us. Most of us who love dogs as companions aren't used to thinking of them as accomplishing labor for us, but the dog as a mere pet is a relatively recent invention. For all those millennia before, dogs worked for us, or fed us. Indeed, our lovable canine friends performed horrendous acts of torture and murder upon us, though it must be said, almost always at the instigation of other humans. Some readers who look through this volume with a devoted dog at their feet will find much of it hard to take.

Dogs first came here around 20,000 years ago, following the humans crossing from Siberia to Alaska. Not much is known about the Indian dogs because of a lack of history. They were companions, but they were firstly guards and pack animals. Christopher Columbus did not have a single dog on his first trip to the Americas, but this was probably the last time boats of exploring or colonizing nations did not bring dogs from Europe. Columbus himself did not go without them for his second voyage, for the bishop who was in charge of outfitting the fleet added twenty greyhounds and mastiffs for the purpose of making war. Thus begins a long and distressing history of dogs used as weapons, which will make difficult reading for modern Americans who romanticize their doggies. The Spanish brought dogs "specifically bred and trained to hunt down and disembowel Indians." In Puritan New England, dogs were used as guards and herd animals, and also to hound Indians. Before the Civil War, some dogs were trained to hunt runaway slaves, trained specifically to tree or corner a slave, and to maul him if he resisted. Police used dogs on civil rights protesters, and dogs were tools for torture in the abominable practices at the prison at Abu Ghraib. Easier reading concerns the changes, starting in the eighteenth century, by which dogs made a transition into the bourgeois home and became valued for loyalty and friendship, and the many stories about dogs beloved by presidents and other famous people.

Derr has a huge and complex subject; as he says, the dog embodies "unconditional love and cold destruction, domesticity and wildness - opposite forces in continual, dynamic equilibrium." We are doing better by dogs in many ways, allowing them to be household friends rather than workers, improving their odds against disease, neutering more of them, and gradually reducing the number that have to be euthanized. We no longer round them up in the summers and shoot them to prevent rabies (or "hydrophobia"). We are not doing dogs good service by continuing to employ puppy mills, or inbreeding dogs to get "pure" breeds. Insistence on breeding extremes have produced dogs that look right by the regulations, but which have serious genetic flaws underneath, including aggressive, nervous, or hyperactive temperaments. Taking in broad aspects of American social history, Derr has not succeeded (no one could) in putting the dog in its place. But he has lovingly shown just how many places the dog has had, and through it all has not flinched from showing distinctly darker aspects of the humans who have owned them.


Rating:
Summary: An intriguing slant on history
Review: From its arrival 20,000 years ago with the first settlers crossing from Siberia, to its present as inbred pedigree and drug-sniffing cop, Derr takes a comprehensive survey approach to the dog. He examines the major incidents of our history - Columbus (no dogs on his first voyage; a mistake he never made again!), the ruthless Spanish Conquistadors, the Civil War, the Depression, WWII and more - from the point of view of the dog's mostly overlooked contribution.

Although the fact-filled narrative does not conjure up a lot of personality, the loyal character of the dog quickly emerges as crucial. One man's best friend is that man's enemy's enemy. Again and again dogs are trained to attack and kill - the Conquistador stories and those of treeing runaway slaves are particularly gruesome.

Dog loyalty has more benign uses, of course, and Derr explores most of them, from herder and hunter to celebrity companion and adventurer. Explorers, from Lewis and Clark to Ernest Shackleton, have depended on dogs for companionship as well as hunting, guidance or transportation. But in times of trouble doggie devotion has often led to the final sacrifice - sustenance. That best-friend thing has never been totally mutual.

Derr's writing doesn't sparkle, but his breadth of research astounds, and there's a compelling feel to the narrative that comes from the canine slant on familiar history. Dog-loving history buffs will particularly enjoy it.

Rating:
Summary: Tracker-Outdoors.com Review of A Dogs History Of America
Review: Tracker-Outdoors.com found Derr's writing compelling and very well researched. He kindly shows just how many places and events dogs have been involved with. Derr's tales of mayhem, heroism, exploration, hard work, betrayal, kindness, abuse and love demonstrates clearly the elements that attract people to dogs. History enthusiasts will enjoy the historic content within these pages tremendously. A Dog's History Of America tells the remarkable tales of American history that will inspire dog owners of all kinds. Overall, we found Derr's book fascinating reading but somewhat disturbing. Mark Derr explores the roles of sled dogs, dogs of war, guide dogs and show ring dogs from a historical perspective. We highly recommend A Dog's History Of America to dog lovers, history buffs and those interested in American culture.

Tracker Outdoors
www.tracker-outdoors.com

Rating:
Summary: Gritty Reality
Review: While I found the book basically well written and interesting, I think Derr digressed a little too far into the biographies of some historical figures, such as Columbus and Custer, spending a fair amount of time on details of their lives that didn't really have anything to do with dogs. In a number of instances the information about the dogs seemed rather sparse and the digressive material seemed to be more of a filler. I was also surprised at some of the descriptions of violence (how the dogs that Columbus brought over were used against the Caribe Indians, as an example). Based on these descriptions of violence, as well as some other adult topics, it might not be suitable for youthful readers and perhaps ought to be screened by parents first. Granted, the reality of the harshness with which both dogs and people have been treated in history should not be hidden, but I was expecting a book for a more general readership, and found the descriptions of violence rather disconcerting here. On the plus side, Derr describes at some length the variety of dog types that Native Americans had (far more than I had realized), and I enjoyed the details about the various types that immigrants brought with them, and what important working partners they were. Dogs contributed much, and this book elucidates just how valuable they've been to us.