Customer Reviews

Dogs: The Ultimate Dictionary of Over 1,000 Dog Breeds

5 star:		(4)
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2 star:		(1)
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Dog breed books must be a big seller -- look at all of them that are published. Rare breeds are particularly of interest to people who are looking for alternatives to what they feel are "overbred" commonly seen registered breeds. However, articles and information on such breeds are usually limited to personal accounts and sometimes questionable histories.

Desmond Morris does what no other encyclopedia or atlas of dogs has done. He has managed to give accurate accounts of some very rare dog breeds. Admirably, with recognized breeds, he has not fallen into the trap of relying on any one western/European dog club's or individual's perceptions. For example, in the case of Turkish native dog breeds he has found and cited credible Turkish sources. No small task!

The format of the book is something else I appreciate - it isn't oversized, probably because it has not included photos of the breeds (it does have line drawings).

If I had but one wish for this book - it would be to somehow include photos. But then the very reasonable price would have to be increased -- along with its current 752 pages!

An excellent read for people looking for information without a bias done by a world-renowned writer.

I love this book! It has PERFECTLY CORRECT information, and has over 3,000 breeds! From this book I figured out that my dog-what I thought was a plain mutt, then a 'miniature German shepherd dog', then a shepherd/Kelpie mix. Now I really know what my dog is: a Plains-Indian dog. This book has lots of sections, including Sighthounds (ex. Large Portuguese Podengo), Scenthounds, (ex. Limer) Short-legged Scenthounds, (ex. Kibble Hound) Flushing dogs (Russian Spaniel), Earth dogs (Shropshire terrier), Treeing dogs (American Blue Gascon Hound), Setting dogs (Llanidloes setter), Pointing dogs (German broken-coated pointer), Decoy dogs (Tumbler), Retrieving dogs (English Water Spaniel), General hunting dogs (Medelan), Fighting dogs (Cordoba Dog), Livestock guards (Dalbo dog), Sheepherders (Marled Collie), cattle herders (Smithfield Collie), deer herders (Cockhill's Finnish lapphund), llama herders (Inca dog), fish herders Fugian dog), household companion dogs (White Collie), household working dogs (Water Drawer), edible dogs (Izcuintlipotzolti) , hair dogs (Naga dog), property guards (Lyme mastiff), barge dogs (Keeshond), rescue dogs (St. Bernard), sled dogs (Aurora Husky), travois dogs (Plains-Indian dog), cart dogs (Belgian mastiff), carriage dogs (Dalmatian), truffle dogs (Truffle dog), wolf/dog hybrids (American Tundra Shepherd), feral dogs (Mongrel), obscure dogs (Sheltie-poo), and wild dogs (Golden Jackal). I give this book a five!

I read my first Desmond Morris book- well- many years ago- "The Naked Ape".
The author has a way of making scientific research palatable and accessible.
When I discovered he had written this book that fit so well with being a dog enthusiast, I was thrilled!
This book is an accomplishment: scientific, well-researched and as unbiased as it could possibly be.
No where else have I found a breed book as thorough and accurate.
Not just a breed book spewing kennel club standards and hype, his sources are diverse and reflect realistic descriptions.
Excellent reference- every dog enthusiast should read it.
I read it cover- to- cover and share with my friends.
One friend was surprised to learn Sharpei's were fighting dogs!

I LOVE this book. As a dog-breed nut, I have learned so much from just flicking through the pages. There is really nothing else out there like this (though they definitely should be), so it is a MUST for any one who loves learning about breeds and wants to expand their knowledge beyond AKC. The summaries are short for each breed, but they are properly referenced, which I definitely appreciate. The illustrated drawings are beautiful and necessary for making the book uniform, since it covers many rare dogs and some extinct breeds. I've read this book before bed MANY times, it's definitely worth purchasing! :)

Desmond Morris had a great idea: produce a comprehensive encyclopedia of all known breeds, with brief descriptions and drawings instead of photos, to keep the size and cost down. Unfortunately, the result is disappointing. First, don't get excited about the "over 1000" breeds, more than twice any other similar book. Morris lists many extinct breeds, which, while interesting, make comparison to similar books misleading. Also, he lists as separate, variations of single breeds. For example, he has 14 different greyhounds! Who knew Sudan had 3 different greyhound breeds. Secondly, many of the descriptions have numerous errors...pick the breeds you're most familiar with, and you'll see. Third, the drawings are horrid. I would not have recognized some breeds that I am extremely familiar with from the drawings.
I do like his functional classification scheme. Including "edible dogs" was interesting. And it was refreshing to see a "fighting dog" category. But ultimately, the effort fails.
Wilcox and Walkowicz's Atlas of Dog Breeds of the World remains the best all breed encyclopedia.

I ordered this book on August 9th, 2005 for a Sept. birthday present... and as of October 27th, had to sign off again on a delayed delivery, now for early December. If you want this one for Christmas (not holding my breath!), you may want to buy it from somebody else.

UPDATE : As of Nov. 20th with given another delay notice for a ship date the end of Dec. now... I cancelled this order & will buy it elsewhere. I suggest you do the same as this book seems to be only available thru the used-book market now.