Dogs

by Yanns Arthus-Bertran

This superb collection of portraits by Yann Arthus-Bertrand shows dogs in all their varied shapes and sizes. Pictured alongside their adoring owners, the individual qualities of each breed are clearly represented. The best representations of each breed have been selected and combined with thorough text illuminating the history of the breed, as well as colourful anecdotes about individual characteristics.

Genres: Dogs, Nonfiction

384 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1993

Reviews

[Stephen Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a big coffee table book with a nice picture of a little girl with a bulldog in her lap. The photographer is French as are the subjects and dogs in the pictures. They are all taken in his studio with a brown background and a large wooden box. Sometimes the dogs and people are on the box, next to the box, on the box, or in the box. The lighting and resolution are very nice. People's and dog's faces are always interesting to look at.

In addition to dogs you probably know, the book is filled with dogs that are rare and I don't remember hearing of. Many are regional dogs, which made me look up the relative size of France - Texas, the second-largest state in the U.S., has an area of around 695,000 square kilometers, while France spans about 551,000 square kilometers. It made me wonder about the size of regions that can develop their own dogs.

Along with the picture of the dog(s) and their owner or family, there is a small paragraph of text sometimes describing a bit of the history of the breed, and then a description. Rarely there was any more description specifically on the dog(s) in the picture other than the name of the owner and the dog(s).

The pictures are nice. If you are fond of pictures of dogs and need a book to put on your coffee table this book would fill the void to have sometime people can browse and enjoy the pictures.

My first reason for 3 stars is that the same brown setting got old for me, but I can understand how thinking of variations of the setting would have been a lot of work. My second reason is I would have hoped to have something more personal on the dogs to make it interesting to me. There was one bit early on that gave me that hope there would be more personal information, but at best there was only a handful more than history and description.

Here is the first bit I ran into that was a little interesting:

'Mr. Claude Adjadj’s two Laekenoises closely observe his slightest gesture or movement. The male, for example, noticed that his master turned a key in a lock to open doors, and tried to imitate him. He gripped the key in his teeth and shook his head to make it turn—but so vigorously that the key broke in the lock.

As for the female, Undine de |’Orchidée Noire, Mr. Adjadj regrets not having trusted her instinct when, upon leaving an exhibition in Belgium, he noticed that he had lost his wallet containing his identity papers. Feeling irritable, he stopped Undine from trying to crawl underneath a nearby vehicle, pushed her into his car and drove back to France. That night, the man who had been parked next to him rang him up to inform him that he had found his wallet under the car, and that his identity papers were safe in the Netherlands. If he had followed Undine’s indications, he would have saved himself the 540 mile trip he had to make to recover his papers.'

(did you also wonder why he didn't just have his wallet mailed to him instead of drive 540 miles back?)

There was another little bit on a Standard Bull Terrier:

'First Sitting Bull du Mackcastel’s behavior surprises Mr. Michel Gavvrit each evening he slips into the living room, collects the cushions from the armchairs and carefully takes them to the corner of the house where he sleeps, making o comfortable bed for himself. '

And then a little fact I didn't know on Fox Hounds:

'This English hunting dog descends from a number of different local breeds, who were themselves bred not for their build but for their ability to hunt foxes. The dogs do not officially qualify as belonging to the breed until it has been confirmed that they are descended from at leas! six generations of foxhounds who hove actively and exclusively hunted foxes. These are solid, durable dogs with strong constitutions. They have a powerful build, large skull, long neck, large back and a tail that must taper off. They hunt foxes in the open in an orderly, disciplined pack.'

I of course could be jaded as I have several other coffee table books, so others may appreciate this book more, but those are my thoughts.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good read for anyone who loves dogs with lovely pictures and some great facts!

[Gloo The third · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every book that features the Schapendoes breed is a masterpiece.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most beatifully photographed "dog" book I have ever seen. I say "dog" book because it is so unlike any other dog book in my collection. The photographs are almost always of dogs and their owners which in some cases is hilarious because of the similiarities between dog and owner. Then the descriptions...ahhh non-conventional, interesting and many times unknown facts about the breed.
A must have for the true dog lover!

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of color photography that captures the beauty, playfulness and boundless affection of our beloved canine companions. More than 220 pedigreed dog breeds are represented in this special, pocket-sized portrait collection, which also offers accompanying text that details the history, physical characteristics, personality traits, work and sporting uses of the breeds, and gives insights into the bonds between dogs and their humans

What's not to love?