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The Dogs: A Personal History of Greyhound Racing
A personal reflection on the history and appeal of dog racing and its greatest moments. The book evolved from the personal experience of the author, an esteemed sports journalist and the daughter of one of Britain's leading greyhound owners.
- GenresNonfiction
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
34 people want to read
About the author
Laura Thompson
87 books182 followersPlease note: Laura Thompson's account is mistakenly merged with another author's account by the same name. Goodreads Librarians are working to solve the issue.
Laura Thompson writes about life - and is unapologetic in what she captures. She is a sexual assault survivor, has navigated near death traumas with her daughters' medical issues, and possesses the ability to capture what is true, honest, and worthy.
True to form, her writing will resonate powerfully with other survivors and with anyone who knows a survivor - because she embodies the word.
Thompson has worked in nonprofit administration for seven years. She and her husband, Edward, have three children: identical twin daughters, Jane and Claire, and son, Stephen. They reside in the Lowcountry of Charleston, SC.
Laura Thompson writes about life - and is unapologetic in what she captures. She is a sexual assault survivor, has navigated near death traumas with her daughters' medical issues, and possesses the ability to capture what is true, honest, and worthy.
True to form, her writing will resonate powerfully with other survivors and with anyone who knows a survivor - because she embodies the word.
Thompson has worked in nonprofit administration for seven years. She and her husband, Edward, have three children: identical twin daughters, Jane and Claire, and son, Stephen. They reside in the Lowcountry of Charleston, SC.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 16, 2025
Quite by chance, reading through the Somerset Maugham Award and then for a bookclub, I ended up reading two quite different books about places I've either temped or volunteered. In the mid-2000s I had a brief and it must be admitted listless stint at the National Greyhound Racing Club, in a little office round the back of Camden Market. Unlike Thompson, I was very much not one of the 'dog men' and the form books and racing results were almost entirely unfamiliar to me. A morbid interest would occasionally resurface whenever I saw a dog marked as lame, as part of the collateral damage of this untelevised sport that had hitherto hidden from view behind tinted Ladbrooks and William Hill windows.
Almost a decade later I would go greyhound racing just the once, as part of a friend's stag do. I placed a safe bet, celebrated my tiny 50p return, then determined that I would hold on to my winnings without any further gambling. I am not, then, one of the 'betting men' either.
Thompson, then, should be praised for her knowledgeable fervancy. For the first time I could imagine White City as the West End Mecca for largely working class 1940s life. Told from the perspective of the greyhound racer's family, I could appreciate the dog-lover's devotion to their animals (Commutering gets particularly fond recall), the opposing pull of sport-as-business, the daytime devotee crowd with their nerdy boyish fact-citing on form, and the dressy escapism that prize-giving could bring. The showy names in the photos (was that Zsa Zsa Gabor and Frankie Howerd in one photo?) offered a surprising glimpse of the standing of the sport in the immediate postwar years.
'The Dogs' brought me close to this sporting fraternity with a clear zest for a sport that Thompson clearly feels has been unduly ignored. The inattention on TV schedules in particular gets mentioned, with the snobby and upwardly mobile pretentions of horse racing getting favour (in newspapers too). If there are faults, they might be the minor oversight given to all the lame animals that got put down over so many years, although it gets picked up in a chapter that covers rehoming later on. I also wanted a little more on how this female saw her position alongside (if not counted among) the 'dog men'. Her mother's dressiness and Laura's comparatively casual attire for prize ceremonies gets drawn, yet the sense of writing from the gendered margins isn't considerable expanded upon.
I'll shut my trap on these minor quibbles, with the impression that this is a book - unlike my time shuffling paper at NGRC - coursing with energy.
Almost a decade later I would go greyhound racing just the once, as part of a friend's stag do. I placed a safe bet, celebrated my tiny 50p return, then determined that I would hold on to my winnings without any further gambling. I am not, then, one of the 'betting men' either.
Thompson, then, should be praised for her knowledgeable fervancy. For the first time I could imagine White City as the West End Mecca for largely working class 1940s life. Told from the perspective of the greyhound racer's family, I could appreciate the dog-lover's devotion to their animals (Commutering gets particularly fond recall), the opposing pull of sport-as-business, the daytime devotee crowd with their nerdy boyish fact-citing on form, and the dressy escapism that prize-giving could bring. The showy names in the photos (was that Zsa Zsa Gabor and Frankie Howerd in one photo?) offered a surprising glimpse of the standing of the sport in the immediate postwar years.
'The Dogs' brought me close to this sporting fraternity with a clear zest for a sport that Thompson clearly feels has been unduly ignored. The inattention on TV schedules in particular gets mentioned, with the snobby and upwardly mobile pretentions of horse racing getting favour (in newspapers too). If there are faults, they might be the minor oversight given to all the lame animals that got put down over so many years, although it gets picked up in a chapter that covers rehoming later on. I also wanted a little more on how this female saw her position alongside (if not counted among) the 'dog men'. Her mother's dressiness and Laura's comparatively casual attire for prize ceremonies gets drawn, yet the sense of writing from the gendered margins isn't considerable expanded upon.
I'll shut my trap on these minor quibbles, with the impression that this is a book - unlike my time shuffling paper at NGRC - coursing with energy.
August 24, 2017
Not my world at all, but after a visit to Poole dogs as part of someone's birthday celebration I read this out of curiosity. Compelling, moving, awkwardly confessional, superbly insightful, wonderfully written. I loved it, and it really transported me into the world, partly lost though recent, of greyhound racing in Britain. I don't know what the Somerset Maugham Award is for, but it definitely deserved to win it!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews