Thor [Hardcover]

David Douglas Duncan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1993

Thor is the human, heartwarming story of a remarkable German shepherd's first years. It chronicles, with respect and affection, the noble, heroic world of Thor's ancestors, his immense capacity for love, his zest, his growing maturity, and what the author calls his "Olympian serenity."

David Douglas Duncan, one of the world's greatest photographers, is the author of twenty books, with sales worldwide of over two million copies. He says that "perhaps this simple story of discovery and love is my favorite."

We think readers will make Thor a favorite of theirs, too - young and old, dog-lovers, lovers of fine photography, and just about everyone else who can see more than a little magic in man's relationship to a titan of the animal kingdom. Thor may well become one of the most beloved accounts of a dog ever published. (83/4 X 111/4, 100 pages, b&w photos)

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Thor is the human, heartwarming story of a remarkable German shepherd's first years. It chronicles, with respect and affection, the noble, heroic world of Thor's ancestors, his immense capacity for love, his zest, his growing maturity, and what the author calls his "Olympian serenity."David Douglas Duncan, one of the world's greatest photographers, is the author of twenty books, with sales worldwide of over two million copies. He says that "perhaps this simple story of discovery and love is my favorite."We think readers will make Thor a favorite of theirs, too - young and old, dog-lovers, lovers of fine photography, and just about everyone else who can see more than a little magic in man's relationship to a titan of the animal kingdom. Thor may well become one of the most beloved accounts of a dog ever published. (83/4 X 111/4, 100 pages, b&w photos)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 100 pages
• Publisher: The Lyons Press; 1st edition (October 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155821237X
• ISBN-13: 978-1558212374
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,490,899 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fantastic photography...a german shepherd lover's delight., April 4, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (boise, idaho) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thor (Hardcover)

reviewer o.c., ca. certainly never saw or read the book. as a shepherd trainer and owner i would have to describe this a combinatin of poetry and fine art. genuinely touching. a remarkable epitaph to a dog that was loved and is missed.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thor--The Noble German Shepherd, June 14, 2008

By 

James R. Holland "Author of Boston's Notable ... (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Thor (Hardcover)

David Douglas Duncan is one of the great photojournalists of the 20th Century. Beginning in 1950 he published twenty books over his lifetime. The first one, "This is War" was about the U.S. Marines in Korea and was recognized as a classic as soon as it reached the market. His book "The Private World of Pablo Picasso" introduced that enigmatic artist's personality to the world. People were able to see the private world that the artist both shaped and functioned within. When I was growing up I was so impressed with that book-length photographic essay that I wanted to follow in D.D.D.'s steps. It impressed me every bit as much as "The Family of Man," a Museum of Modern Art exhibit catalog of many photographers that changed the direction of my professional life. Alas, this book is not in the same league as Duncan's classic coffee table photography essays that have sold an almost unbelievable 2 million plus copies. Don't be too disappointed however, that this is not anything like his classics or his wonderful illustrated memoir "Yankee Nomad."

This is a dog lover's book. Anyone who is a German Shepherd owner will especially enjoy it. Overall, I rated it five stars for the dog memoir. I rated it only three stars for a photographic essay. That's how I arrived at an over-all rating of four stars. I was somewhat disappointed in it, but still love having it for my personal book collection.

The chief reasons for my disappointment with the book are my awareness of the volume's poor layout and design and so-so text. Many of the pictures are not up to the usual standard of the famous photojournalist author-photographer. Some of the layout looks exactly like a poorly done photo album. There is even one oval shaped photograph included to make it really resemble a family snapshot album. It's a lovely image and it suffers from the oval presentation. The biggest design problem is the choice of text fonts. I suspect the book was probably printed in several different languages and the French edition was just fed into a computer to translate the text. It was a perfect example of how not to translate a book. As a result, the font and layout reminded me of an elementary school textbook from 45 years ago when that style of type was the norm. At this time in history the poorly designed text blocks actually distracted the reader from some of the really beautiful photographs. I also had a problem with the free verse. The text is a bit confusing, disjointed, missing some basic information and seems too much like a cut-and-past edit, but that too may be the result of translating the text via a computer program?

For the loyal D.D.D. fans as well as all dog lovers, this is a must for your collection. Duncan was always a dog lover and this is only the latest acknowledgment of it. "Thor" really was well named. An unusual observation, feeling, I noticed while reading the book was how interesting the homes and countryside of Southern France appeared in many of the black and white photographs. In some cases I would have liked to be able to step into the pages of the book to better explore the locales shown in the pictures. Thor lived in quite a picturesque home and mountain village. Some of the interior pictures of Thor relaxing at home in front of the fireplace while guarding his owners have a distinct Georgia O'Keefe flavor to them. Some of the bronzes shown decorating the home's interiors have a distinct Picasso feel to them. Thor seemed quite happy living in this artist environment. Like most dogs, however, home to him was were his owners were and he would have been just as happy living in an igloo.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can not be read without a lump in your throat., June 6, 1998

By 

Gene & Helen Mandel ([e-mail]) (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thor (Hardcover)

Magnificent pictures. Gorgeous free verse. An animal of great dignity and joy.