Overview

"The hugely illuminating story of how a popular breed of dog became the most demonized, and supposedly the most dangerous of dogs--and what role humans have played in the transformation. The hugely illuminating story of how a popular breed of dog became the most demonized and supposedly the most dangerous of dogs-and what role humans have played in the transformation. When Bronwen Dickey brought her new dog home, she saw no traces of the infamous viciousness in her affectionate, timid pit bull. Which made her wonder- How had the breed-beloved by Teddy Roosevelt, Helen Keller, and Hollywood's ""Little Rascals""-come to be known as a brutal fighter? Her search for answers takes her from nineteenth-century New York City dogfighting pits-the cruelty of which drew the attention of the recently formed ASPCA-to early twentieth‑century movie sets, where pit bulls cavorted with Fatty Arbuckle and Buster Keaton; from the battlefields of Gettysburg and the Marne, where pit bulls earned presidential recognition, to desolate urban neighborhoods where the dogs were loved, prized-and sometimes brutalized. Whether through love or fear, hatred or devotion, humans are bound to the history of the pit bull. With unfailing thoughtfulness, compassion, and a firm grasp of scientific fact, Dickey offers us a clear-eyed portrait of this extraordinary breed, and an insightful view of Americans' relationship with their dogs."

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The pit bull is a legend, a fear, an exaggeration, a bete noire.BronwenDickey does this misunderstood animal the great service of looking beyond the myth. What she finds are dogs who deserve better than we've been giving them. Alexandra Horowitz, author, Inside of a Dog Pit Bull tells how America's Dog morphed into America's nightmare. Ms. Dickey's scrupulous, encyclopedic research pretty well proves that harmless pets have been scapegoated to feed our fears. Pit Bull is a fascinating, complex story of canine genetics, media missteps and an appalling national willingness to kill poor peoples' dogs. David McCaig, author, Mr. and Mrs. Dog The pit bull is truly America's Dog, and few breeds are surrounded with as much mythology, fear and misinformation. Bronwen Dickey has written the first comprehensive explanation of how the bull terrier of the gentry transformed nearly overnight into the chained-up hellhound of the underclass. This book gets to the cultural roots of the 'demon dog' fantasy and helps us understand that the stories we tell about pit bulls are really stories about violence, class and repressed rage. Dickey is a consummate reporter and a brilliant incisive writer who has given us a book about far more than dogs. Tom Zoellner, author, Train: Riding the Rails that Created the Modern World

The pit bull is a legend, a fear, an exaggeration, a bete noire.BronwenDickey does this misunderstood animal the great service of looking beyond the myth. What she finds are dogs who deserve better than we've been giving them. Alexandra Horowitz, author, Inside of a Dog Pit Bull tells how America's Dog morphed into America's nightmare. Ms. Dickey's scrupulous, encyclopedic research pretty well proves that harmless pets have been scapegoated to feed our fears. Pit Bull is a fascinating, complex story of canine genetics, media missteps and an appalling national willingness to kill poor peoples' dogs. David McCaig, author, Mr. and Mrs. Dog Bronwen Dickey writes so well, with such understated elegance.I spent a lifetime afraid of pit bulls, hating creatures that came to me through newspapers and the media, until I read this book. Pat Conroy, author, The Prince of Tides The pit bull is truly America's Dog, and few breeds are surrounded with as much mythology, fear and misinformation. Bronwen Dickey has written the first comprehensive explanation of how the bull terrier of the gentry transformed nearly overnight into the chained-up hellhound of the underclass. This book gets to the cultural roots of the 'demon dog' fantasy and helps us understand that the stories we tell about pit bulls are really stories about violence, class and repressed rage. Dickey is a consummate reporter and a brilliant incisive writer who has given us a book about far more than dogs. Tom Zoellner, author, Train: Riding the Rails that Created the Modern World

Author Information

BRONWEN DICKEYis an essayist and journalist who writes regularly for the Oxford American. Her work has also appeared inThe New York Times,Slate, The Best American Travel Writing 2009,Newsweek,andOutside,among other publications. In 2009 she received a first-place Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award and a MacDowell Colony residency grant. She lives in North Carolina.

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