Author:Jon Katz
Jon and his wife live in a New Jersey suburb with two perfectly behaved Labradors. Then into the mix comes Devon, who creates havoc from the moment he arrives at the airport, when it takes Jon, two baggage handlers and three police officers to track him down after he escapes.
Jon learns the hard way how to encourage Devon to behave. But amongst the difficulties of their first year together, Jon discovers his life is enlivened by a creature with so much mischievousness and joie de vivre. In fact, Jon finds that he is to change as much as Devon.
By turns insightful, hilarious and deeply moving, A Dog Year is a delightful true story of the age-old bond between man and dog.
Jon Katz understands dogs as few others do, intuitively and unburdened by sentimentality. His keen insights cut to the heart of the human-pet relationship - its immense joys and painful sorrows. With wisdom and grace, he unlocks the canine soul and the complicated wonders that lie within and offers powerful inights to anyone who has ever struggled with, and loved, a troubled animal
—— John Grogan, author of MARLEY AND MEWhat distinguishes Katz's witty canine account from most others is his absention from sentimentality ... The adventures described in A Dog Year are the stuff of great fiction ... Part cautionary tale, part love story, A Dog Year reminds us that adopting a pet is a massive responsibility but one that rewards the owner with a rich, more meaningful life
—— Los Angeles TimesMoving, funny ... a loveable mutt of a book
—— Chicago TimesDog fans will chuckle and blub
—— Daily MailIf this year's climate crucial climate change negotiations are successful, this book will be required reading ... Lord Stern, like Al Gore, could be seen as one of the rock stars of global warming.
—— Fiona Harvey , Financial TimesThe planet owes Nicholas Stern a big thank you...valuable and combative stuff.
—— Fred Pearce , GuardianA terrific story of competitive bickering, intrigue, damaged reputations and unacknowledged contributions- It is also wonderfully written- an ideal primer
—— Irish TimesMarvellous and comprehensive
—— NatureThere are few better introductions than this
—— New ScientistA wonderful book- [which] bears favourable comparison with Jacob Bronowski's The Ascent of Man.
—— Sunday TelegraphJames Watson-is one of the greatest living biologists- [His] new book is an important event, for he is a scintillating writer
—— John Cornwell , The Sunday TimesJames Watson has been an eyewitness to each revolution in molecular biology, from the double helix to the genome. He sees further and clearer than anybody else in the field. Give this fabulously good book to anybody who wants to understand what all the excitement is about
—— Matt RidleyGabriel Weston's story succeeds better than any I have known...more riveting and thought-provoking than any fiction
—— The Lady, Susan HillGlinting like a tray of instruments, her prose is satisfyingly precise
—— Victoria Segal , The GuardianA curiously thrilling read, written with an elegance heightened by its clarity and economy
—— Elizabeth Day , ObserverA valuable and unflinching account, since it so clearly tells the truth
—— Christopher Hart , The Sunday TimesThis book is mesmerising
—— William Leith , ScotsmanHer description of the struggle to remain individual and hence moral is her real achievement. This, to me, is what female writing has to do, and she does it with style and humour and beauty
—— Rachel CuskThis much appreciated book should be a must-read for everyone who likes to travel, and should be translated into the languages of the world's tourism champions. It should also be a must-read for politicians and decision makers in development agencies to finally understand that tourism has lost the 'virginity' of a harmless leisure sector to develop into a dangerous global driving force which needs to be regulated and restricted.
—— Contours magazine