Customer Reviews

Thor

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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

Simply the best book ever published, in my opinion. I wish I could have known Thor. It would have been an honor to share a piece of my life with such a noble being. I see so much of the dignity, the desire for solitude, the love for a family, and the good sense of Thor in my own beloved dogs, Pup and Skit. If you want to know the goodness that resides in the soul of dogs, then find a copy of this gentle book.

A few people reviewing this book have it confused with a novel titled Thor. This is by far my favorite book of all time, in fact, so much so, that I have 2 copies. The pictures are amazing and the love oozing from the words of the author are so touching. I could write a book just like this about my past and present "babies". God speed sweet Thor....snow dancing forever.

Thor was one of my favorite books! When the secret of the family's uncle came out was very scary! When a wild animal keeps coming and kills the young cat that thor actually loves he is sent to the pound and the owner crys as he is taken away. It certainly made me cry after a dignified dog was thrown into the pound!

The book Thor is one of my favorites...assuming there are not two. The synopsis above does not seem to describe at all the book I and the reviewers have read. The book I so enjoyed described a loyal dog's silent, lonely, heroic struggle to protect his family from an enemy within which he had no chance of defeating. It's truly a wonderful book, in some ways in the spirit of Watership Down or Tailchaiser's Song. The book described in the synopsis, however, seems to be the story of a beloved pet in real life. Very confusing...if you find the suspense tale entitled Thor, on which I believe the movie "Bad Moon" (and equally bad movie, but not the author's fault) was based, pick it up. It's a wonderfully engaging one or two night read that will keep you up til dawn. I hope the author gives those of us who enjoyed the book so much another night or two of pleasure...it's a stretch, but if Bruice Willis continues to get into Die Hard situations, why not Thor? Thrilling, heartwrenching read. Poor kitty.