The Fireside Book of Dog Stories

by Jack Goodman (Editor)

Stories about dogs from well-known writers James Thurber, Jack London, Booth Tarkington, John Galsworthy, W.H. Hudson, Alexander Woollcott, Walter A. Dyer, Richard Harding Davis, Anatole France, Norman Corwin, Vereen Bell, E.B. White, Maurice Maeterlinck, James Street, D.H. Lawrence, Lord Dunsany, O. Henry, Jack Alan, Stephen Crane, Bertha Damon, Thomas Mann, Louis Untermeyer, Don Marquis, Walter D. Edmonds, Emma-Lindsay Squier, G.B. Stern, Elsie Singmaster, Rudyard Kipling, Eric Knight, MacKinlay Kantor, Albert Payson Terhune, Hugh Walpole, and Robert Louis Stevenson.

Genres: Animals, Fiction, Dogs

588 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1943

Reviews

[Jazzy Lemon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book of dog stories so remarkable that 50 years later, I not only remember some of the stories, but still feel like the child who lay awake at night finishing just one more.

[Kirsten Mortensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been around "forever," and by "forever" I mean I read my dad's copy when I was a kid. It appears to be out of print today, but it was widely published, so it's fairly easy to pick up second hand copies.

I loved it when I read it as a kid. I still love it today.

The stories range from the humorous (there are three laugh-out-loud pieces by James Thurber) to wistful rememberances (e.g. "Some Sunnybank Dogs," by Albert Payson Terhune).

The writing itself is first-rate: this book, in fact, was my first introduction to a number of major literary figures: DH Lawrence, Thomas Mann, Anatole France.

It would be hard to list my top five favorites, but I can easily name my #1: "The Dark Gentleman" by Gladys Bronwyn Stern. It's more a novella (74 pages in my edition of the collection), it is beautifully written, and without giving away too much, it's a love story (sort of) told from the POV of five dogs who live on an English estate with their Legs -- i.e. their humans.

I read it over and over as a kid, and it still gives me pleasure to read it today.

I highly recommend this book to dog lovers of all ages, as well as anyone who appreciates terrific writing.

[Threse · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly marvelous collection of pre-WWII dog stories. This was one of my favorite books as a child, discovered in the dusty old local library at age 10 and checked out dozens of times over the years. A few years ago I was thrilled to find a used copy in good shape, and re-reading it turned out to be every bit as delightful as I had remembered.

What makes this collection so special and so different from most books of animal stories is that these are high quality tales written by celebrated adult fiction authors and includes an variety of genres such as fantasy, drama, tragedy and comedy. The authors include the likes of Stephen Crane, James Thurber, O. Henry, EB White and Rudyard Kipling, Booth Tarkington and Elsie Singmaster Lewis. This book was my introduction to most of those authors, many of whom I continue to enjoy today.

Highly recommended for animal lovers everywhere.

[Becky Loader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book in an antique store and bought it because of the Dalmatian on the cover. The stories are all from pre-World War II, and many are written by very famous authors. They are a mixture of startling, emotional, and amazing.

BTW: None of the stories features a Dalmatian.

However, the cover is by British artist, Cecil Aldin, and is entitled, "The Ugly Puppy." Taken from his book, "An Artist's Models," it features a Dalmatian puppy named Loopy.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must for the physical bookshelf of dog-lovers. I truly relished only maybe half the selections,but just having so many in one place is a treat for browsing. The list of authors is impressive. Lots of humor as well as affection. Several famous books are represented by a chapter, e.g. Lassie Come Home. Some of the longer short story classics are here like "The Bar Sinister" and "The Voice of Bugle Ann." The book is worth getting for the latter alone. I review Bugle Ann separately.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting collection of stories. One thing of interest is that it was published during WWII and there is, on the title page, a notice about how because of the wartime shortage of paper, the book was printed with smaller margins and thinner paper. On the back cover there is a call for America's Dog-Owners to consider giving there dog to the Armed Forces for training and deployment.
The stories are by Jack London, James Thurber, E.B. White, John Galsworthy, W.H. Hudson, Anatole France, Thomas Mann, Rudyard Kipling, O. Henry, D.H. Laurence, Robert Louis Stevenson, and many others. Some stories are very good and some have not aged well.

I read it over three sessions over a 3 year period.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book, writers like James Thurber, Jack London, O. Henry (even Thomas Mann and D.H. Lawrence are represented here). The one thing I noticed is that peoples relationship with their dogs, while still caring, was certainly not the same as they are today. Nowadays, Thurber, who was known for his love of dogs, would be guilty of neglect if he were to let his intact bulldog run around town like he does in one of the stories.

[Mom Coulongue · Rating 5 out of 5]

This wonderful anthology from dog lovers and their stories is great. A very old book published in 1943, it has James Thurber, Jack London, E.B. White,O Henry,Thomas Mann, and Rudyard Kipling featured along with many others.
All the pieces are not entertaining, some are comical, some sad, yet the whole volume was enchanting- and to know I am NOT a dog lover - is to say the very least!

It took me several weeks to read all the different stories and digest their content...

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read my mother's 1943 copy as a child in the fifties. It was one of my favorite of all time. Re-reading it now is even more of a pleasure and discovery, as i am realizing that I must have skipped some of the essays as a child, and they are completely new to me. Certainly this influenced my love of dogs.