The Great Grisby: Two Thousand Years of Exceptional Dogs - Softcover

Brottman, Dr Mikita

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0062304623 ISBN 13: 9780062304629

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 2015

Synopsis

[ The Great Grisby: Two Thousand Years of Exceptional Dogs By ( Author ) Oct-2015 Paperback

About this title

Review:

"Insightful and utterly fascinating ...THE GREAT GRISBY is a rich and enthralling book about the powerful bond between humans and dogs."--Temple Grandin, author of ANIMALS MAKE US HUMAN

"Utterly delightful and beautifully written...the greatest pleasure of this wonderful book is reading about the author's love for Grisby...Her descriptions of the two of them spending the day quietly at home is mesmerizing in its ability to remind us of the simple pleasure of hanging together, dog and person."--Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, author of BEASTS and DOGS NEVER LIE ABOUT LOVE

"If THE GREAT GRISBY were a meal, it would satisfy (at last) even the hungriest of dogs, and the most discerning of passionate log lovers. No kibble, a feast. I devoured it in one savory bite."--Abigail Thomas, author of A THREE DOG LIFE

"Brottman writes amusingly and often movingly of the relationships between dozens of writers and artists and their canine friends, along the way exploring her own devotion to Grisby, a charismatic if at times bumptious French bulldog...Brottman's research is deep and her storytelling compelling."--Boston Globe

"Filled with marvelous anecdotes and insights, The Great Grisby (named for the author's beloved French bulldog) explores human-dog bonds in history, art, mythology and literature... lively."--New York Times

"Ranging across a wealth of historical A-List dog lovers-both real and fictional-and their dogs, Brottman employs her training as an Oxford-educated scholar, critic and psychoanalyst to plumb the depths and breadth of this ancient friendship...thought-provoking."--Bark Magazine

"Amazing... If you love animals and are an aficionado of dogs this is a wonderful look at the trials and tribulations of those in the past as they come to terms with the differing personalities of the pets they call their own."--Seattle Post-Intelligencer

"Part history book and part memoir, THE GREAT GRISBY is a fascinating exploration of how dogs have changed people and the world in myriad ways."--Shelf Awareness

"In her paeans to her pet, Brottman evokes the joys of dog ownership. ... Avid dog lovers will relish the digressions into literature and history, as well as the assurance that the love between dog and human can be as deep as any other kind of love."--Publishers Weekly

"More than just a collection of fun dog stories, Brottman's book illuminates the symbiotic relationship between people and canines, offering insights into the human condition through the lens of our four-footed friends."--Booklist

From the Back Cover:

A scholar, psychoanalyst, and cultural critic explores the multifaceted role dogs play in our world in this charming bestiary of dogs from literature, lore, and life.

While gradually unveiling her eight-year love affair with her French bulldog, Grisby, Mikita Brottman ruminates on the singular bond between dogs and humans. Why do prevailing attitudes warn us against loving our pet "too much"? Is her relationship with Grisby nourishing or dysfunctional, commonplace or unique? Challenging the assumption that there's something repressed and neurotic about those deeply connected to a dog, she turns her keen eye on the many ways in which dog is the mirror of man.

The Great Grisby is organized into twenty-six alphabetically arranged chapters, each devoted to a particular human-canine union drawn from history, art, philosophy, or literature. Here is Picasso's dachshund Lump; Freud's chow Yofi; Oliver Twist's Bill Sikes's mutt Bull's Eye; and Elizabeth Barrett Browning's spaniel Flush, whose biography was penned by Virginia Woolf. There are royal dogs, like Prince Albert's greyhound Eos, and dogs cherished by authors, like Thomas Hardy's fox terrier Wessex. Brottman's own beloved Grisby serves as an envoy for sniffing out these remarkable companions.

Quirky and delightful, and peppered with incisive personal reflections and black-and-white sketches portraying a different dog and its owner, The Great Grisby reveals how much dogs have to teach us about empathy, happiness, love--and what it means to be human.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0062304623
• ISBN 13: 9780062304629
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288