Everyone thinks that their own dog is brilliant. Coren has written an intriguing study that will help dog owners to gauge realistically their own dog's intelligence. After discussing the evolution of the dog from its wolf ancestry, Coren looks at the canine and what it has meant in history, its influence on religion, and even its image as harbinger of death. But the meat of the book lies in the author's evaluation of intelligence. He concludes that ``dogs can learn to discriminate over a hundred spoken human words'' and that dogs use different ways of communicating—including barks, growls, and movements of the tail, ears, eyes, and mouth—all in carefully nuanced ways. Coren goes on to suggest that what Americans consider a ``bow-wow'' may simply be the dog speaking in the local dialect; a dog's kiss may ``really mean that it is treating you as its parent and asking for a snack''; ``tail wagging is a completely social gesture. In some ways, it serves the same functions as a human smile''; and urination is a way of saying, ``This territory is mine.'' We are reminded that even today, especially in parts of Asia, the dog is thought of as a form of sustenance and that during the Franco- Prussian war in 1870 the following culinary evaluations were applied: ``Spaniel, like lamb; Poodle far the best; Bulldog coarse and tasteless.'' Coren also presents a 12-part canine IQ test and an obedience personality test that measures the future obedience quotient of a puppy. He also provides tips for teaching and training less intelligent dogs. After a dry, academic start, this becomes an interesting, at times stimulating, manual for the intelligent dog owner.
Pub Date: April 20, 1994
ISBN: 0-02-906683-2
Page Count: 300
Publisher: Free Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1994
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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