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A DOG IS LISTENING

Name: A DOG IS LISTENING
Author: Roger A. Caras
ISBN: 0-671-70249-1

THE WAY SOME OF OUR CLOSEST FRIENDS VIEW US

by Roger A. Caras ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 1992

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Amiable companion volume to A Cat Is Watching (1989), explaining just what goes on in Rover's head, and why. Caras, who puts up 12 dogs on his rambling farm, mixes personal anecdote, fact, and speculation in this chatty rundown of a dog's life. Despite the title, listening is only one of many dog senses he elaborates on; of the ``conventional'' senses, in fact, it's smell that impresses him the most—if a small drop of butyric acid were released in a Philadelphia-sized city, he tells us, a dog could detect it anywhere in the city up to an altitude of 300 feet. Dog taste, touch, and sight also reveal their wonders through Caras's admiring pen, as does the ``less-conventional'' sense of the Jacobson's organ, which allows dogs to ``taste air''; but more marvelous still is a seventh sense that Caras, bucking traditional science, writes of here. This includes not only dogs' fabled ability to predict thunderstorms and earthquakes but one that Caras has no name or explanation for, revealed to him in ``the closest thing to a miracle I have ever seen,'' in which he observed a dog anticipate its master's epileptic fits. As if emboldened by this discussion, Caras goes on to explore another scientific mine field- -that of canine feelings and thoughts—mostly by drawing on his own pets' behavior (e.g., their ability ``to come to sensible solutions'' to life's problems, as in dealing with a new family member). A recap of dog evolution follows, concluding with a brief summary of breeds and some dos and don'ts—especially, don't cross dogs with wolves, which, Caras says, produces a ``messed-up'' version of each. Charming dog lore for dog lovers, not on a philosophical par with Vickie Hearne's work (Bandit, etc.) but just right for reading by the fire, Rover curled up at your feet. (Twenty-five b&w photographs—not seen.)

Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1992

ISBN: 0-671-70249-1

Page Count: 240

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1991

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
A PERFECT HARMONY
by Roger A. Caras

- BOOK REVIEW
THE CATS OF THISTLE HILL
by Roger A. Caras

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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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

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.