A Dog's Book of Truths

by Nancy Levine, Joseph Duemer

LuLu and Maxie are sisters, two dogs who've become an artistic passion for photographer Nancy LeVine. For nearly a decade, she's chronicled their lives and, in the process, opened a window into the relationship between canines and their world and what dogs can teach us about ourselves.In A Dog's Book of Truths, LeVine pairs her stunning duotone images with the insightful words of poet Joseph Duemer. The results range from humorous to profound. As one dog looks purposefully into the camera: "Some dogs are comic geniuses precisely because they take the world so seriously." Another dog, alone on a subway train: "To lose a dog's trust is to fail the soul." When several dogs tussle over a stick: "A dog will run in circles or chase sticks endlessly not out of mindlessness but from energy and delight in her existence."Throughout the pages of A Dog's Book of Truths, LeVine's photos resonate with clear glimpses at those unself-conscious moments that transcend superficiality and artifice. Dog lovers will relish this book for its honesty and verve, while photography lovers will find its images unparalleled takes on dogs at their most natural. Everyone else will find the philosophical union between dog and human a mostcompelling subject. A Dog's Book of Truths is a must-have volume for everyone interested in more fully exploring the mysteries of life.

96 pages, Hardcover

First published October 2, 2002

About the author

Nancy Levine is a veteran dog photographer and former staff photographer for the Elmsford, New York, Humane Society. She has had extensive experience in theater and standup comedy and was a regular contributor to The Investigative Report, a now-defunct cutting-edge parody newspaper in San Francisco. Her commentaries have been broadcast in the Bay Area on NPR affiliates, and her writing has appeared in The San Francisco Chronicle and The Los Angeles Times. She is formerly vice president of client services for an executive search firm and has conducted corporate training workshops in the Bay Area. Originally from Scarsdale, New York, Levine resides with Wilson and Homer in Berkeley, California.

Reviews

[AlohaKarina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short book but one which is a good read if you have a dog, or just love dogs. Dogs are exactly who they show you they are—no subterfuge. Nancy LeVine does an excellent job sharing short truths about dogs. One of my favorites: “There is nothing so pure as a dog’s greeting: it is the definition of honesty.”

[Linda Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book on dog's relationships with other dogs and their humans that love them.