Barking Her Way to the Top : A Collie Pursues a Career in the Civil Service (Paperback)

by Howard D. Rowland (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"A remarkably witty spoof on life in the Civil Service...written by an insider with long experience working there." -- Christine Campbell, DLI administrator, Monterey, California

"Good satire...an engaging story of a most remarkable collie....Be prepared to chuckle from start to finish." -- Reuben Pearson, The Book Tree, Monterey, California

"The author has a very good understanding of the mentality and behavior of our four-legged canine friends." -- Regina Todd, Monterey, California

Product Description
A work of humorous fiction in which a super-intelligent collie, that understands both Russian and English, is hired by a U.S. military language institute in California as a Russian teacher, then gets promoted through the system, and ends up "top dog," in charge of the institute, and proceeds to carry out "canine-friendly" changes. The two underlying themes in the book are a satirical view of the Civil Service and military, and the relationship and communication between humans and dogs.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 283 pages
• Publisher: Park Place Publications (September 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1877809810
• ISBN-13: 978-1877809811
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,904,364 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You will NOT read another book like this., June 5, 2001

By	"mvreader" (Mountain View, CA) - See all my reviews

Rarely do you get as strong a feeling of an author so delighted as he wrote, positively grinning ear to ear. Refreshingly un-PC at times, Howard Rowland takes you on a quirky and surreal ride that unleashes an insider's contempt of government bureaucracy, as well as the depth of his love for the canine and linguistic worlds.

I'd highly recommend this tour de force, I enjoyed it immensely.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Man Hypes Dog, April 20, 2001

By A Customer

Anyone who loves animals and scorns bureaucracy will find "Barking Her Way to the Top" a treat. Our heroine, Kukushka, is a beautiful female collie with an unusual ambition, and the talent to realize it. Together with her master (?) and co-conspirator, one Roger Pyle, Ph.D., she sets out to be more than "just a house dog," and in the process turns a Government institute on its ear. That this institute lurches between political correctness and ingrained devotion to regulations, makes it ripe for the machinations of this dynamic duo. Dr. Pyle is a seemingly "normal" academic, and polyfluent (no kidding) linguist. His deceptive charm masks a truly Machiavellian cunning and inventiveness. When danger to his canine beauty turns her professor protector into a beast, he morphs into a slavering fanged avenger! Here the plot becomes thick with psychological, and even supernatural complications. A multinational cast of characters careens through these wittily illustrated pages, provoking grins and groans by turns. Most of all, this book--despite its surface risibility--shows to what lengths a man will go to honor his beloved animal companion.

4.0 out of 5 stars A grown-ups' collie story, June 13, 2001

By A Customer

"Lassie Come Home" is for kids; "Barking Her Way to the Top" is a grown-ups' collie story. Dog lovers, convinced their dogs are smarter than we give them credit for, can't help but laugh at the heroine Kukushka's treatment of her "dumb animal." Howard Rowland really got the collie personality down, pant. I mean, "pat." Since it's written by someone familiar with the excesses and clever hindsight government bureaucracies serve up, this book will also find fans among bureaucratic employees who think there might be a better way around all the red tape of their jobs.