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10th out of 65 books
—
39 voters
How the Dog Became the Dog: From Wolves to Our Best Friends
by
Mark Derr
That the dog evolved from the wolf is an accepted fact of evolution and history, but the question of how wolf became dog has remained a mystery, obscured by myth and legend. How the Dog Became the Dog posits that dog was an evolutionary inevitability in the nature of the wolf and its human soul mate.
The natural temperament and social structure of humans and wolves are so s...more
The natural temperament and social structure of humans and wolves are so s...more
Hardcover, 288 pages
Published
October 27th 2011
by Overlook Hardcover
(first published March 3rd 2011)
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This is a dog. He is the most popular dog in the world. Why? Because if you google Dog he is the first one that comes up in the image search.
This book is about him and his ancestors.
I thought this book would be kind of interesting. Instead it kind of sucks.
A slogging and tedious read filled with a mixture of facts, wild conjecture, strange teleological extrapolations, wild hippie mystical bullshit and enough liberal guilt to make me wonder how the author can get out of bed in the morning with...more
This book is about him and his ancestors.
I thought this book would be kind of interesting. Instead it kind of sucks.
A slogging and tedious read filled with a mixture of facts, wild conjecture, strange teleological extrapolations, wild hippie mystical bullshit and enough liberal guilt to make me wonder how the author can get out of bed in the morning with...more
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The evolution (co-evolution?) of humans and dogs is of interest to me so I jumped onto this book when I finally ran across it. I don't read a lot in this field, but I thought I would be able to keep up with a pop-science title.
Overall I did get a lot out of this book, there were just a number of ways in which it felt like there was another conversation going on that I was not privy to, that the author was having a philosophical stoush with someone and I was only hearing one side of the heated co...more
Overall I did get a lot out of this book, there were just a number of ways in which it felt like there was another conversation going on that I was not privy to, that the author was having a philosophical stoush with someone and I was only hearing one side of the heated co...more
Are our current canine pets wolf-like dogs or dog-like wolves? Mark Derr doesn't know either. But he doesn't mind wasting your time with his circular arguments, frequent unnecessary personal asides and general petulant, chip-on-the-shoulder attitude toward actual research scientists. He does have a few interesting ideas, but stylistically this book is really annoying and disorganized. He could have used a good editor
Maybe if you like dogs more than I do, or have a few theories of your own, you'l...more
Maybe if you like dogs more than I do, or have a few theories of your own, you'l...more
We owe much to our faithful companions. Unfortunately, as is often the case with humans, we do not pay back friendship well. We get much more from the dog than they get from us. This marvelous book chronicles the self domestication of they dog through the fossil and genetic records and describes how we wound up with the pure breeds of today. If you are a dog lover like I am, this book is a must read. If you aren't a dog lover, then you are irredeemable. I loved this book, and it made me vary sad...more
This is a highly detailed account of the transition from wolf to dog. Derr takes the most credible approach of make certain to discuss all the competing view points of this confusing issue. Though he quite obviously, has his favorites, he is very clear about the inconclusiveness of the available data. Beyond that, he provides excellent, thought provoking commentary about what the difference between what we expect from our dogs and what we should expect from them. I've been a dog owner my entire...more
This book made me think about dogs, their relationship with man, and their evolution on a new light, i.e. that it may be possible and/or likely that dogs started to become dogs (no longer wolves) more like 40,000 years ago instead of the 12,000-15,000 years ago that I have tended to believe (courtesy of the Coppinger book I read a couple of months ago). However, I didn't find this book to be a good read, per se, only a good source of some ideas contrary to my own. It did make me rethink, for whi...more
Impressive, benedictine research; Derr piles up data from numerous disciplines and fields - it must have taken ages. Chapeaux bas. The language is a bit annoying, some parts I'd cut or rewrite, but someone with scientific approach and/or very passionate about dog-human relationship will easily persevere such shortcomings. I'd rate it 4,5 if I could.
This one gets a mixed reaction. There is a ton of information here, and I like the way Mark Derr takes apart and examines the different theories addressing the domestication of dogs. But --- I've had Mark as a grad school instructor and know that he's very disorganized so this was NOT a surprise -- the book cries out for editing and organization. The same stories are repeated in different chapters. Topics are addressed thoroughly, then reappear several chapters later. Some details beg for citati...more
Disappointing. Lots of good stuff in this book including much review of current past theories related to evolution and genetics and dogs and domestication and migration and so forth. But written so redundantly and in the end boringly. Could not recommend this book to anyone who was not absolutely super focused on the topic.
Jan 04, 2012
Bryan Woerner
added it
I was hoping for a nice science-y/history-y story (a la Salt or a Short History of Nearly Everything) but it was extremely boring. 5 chapters into it and he's essentially repeating what was in the introduction.
Returned it to the library before was finished or due.
Returned it to the library before was finished or due.
I really liked a lot about this book, especially in the beginning, but the author's strong political views took over somewhere in the middle and were a definite distraction from the history he was trying to cover.
I found my mind wandering a lot while reading this. Some interesting anecdotal information, but I would've liked less science and more hands-on.
So boring. Also the author doesn't write objectively. I was really disappointed in this book. If you're looking for an informative non-fiction book, this isn't it.
Very chewy, interesting in spots, but kind of a snoozer.
The author would have been better off simply making this an epoch-spanning novel. Instead, he blithely makes up his own fantasies of what the past was like, ignores any facts that disagree with his fantasies, and generally acts as though the truth, since it is currently scientifically unproven, can be bent to be whatever we wish it to be. If you like his arbitrary classifications (dogwolves, wolfdogs, socialized wolves, uhh, probably a few more I forgot), have fun with it. I'm not going to waste...more
Fascinating topic; book was almost incomprehensible. As another reviewer commented, this book needs a good editor.
This author's intent seems to be to cite everything ever written about the evolutionary mechanisms that produced dog from wolf origins. As a result this book reads like a dictionary and is about as entertaining.
Lots of fact and opinions, poorly organized and presented.
Very science oriented...kinda hard to understand and frankly, there was too much about Cro-Magnams (sp?) and pre-Cro-Magnam, Neanderthal people, etc., to really get into the relationship that developed between dog (wolf) & man.
However, for skimming purposes, it was interesting in the sense that I thought more about how I relate to my dogs than I ever did before.
However, for skimming purposes, it was interesting in the sense that I thought more about how I relate to my dogs than I ever did before.
Mark Derr is an incredible writer, but this book was a little too scientific for me. I think someone more scientific-minded would probably find this book fascinating. For me, it was a very slow read. I definitely learned many aspects of wolves and dogs that I did not know before - that's a plus.
May 17, 2013
Sam Kyle
marked it as to-read
May 16, 2013
Dan Schindel
marked it as to-read
May 15, 2013
Neak
is currently reading it
May 14, 2013
Laura
is currently reading it
May 11, 2013
Laurie Scott
marked it as to-read
May 05, 2013
Eva Thackerson
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May 04, 2013
Maritza Chairez
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Apr 29, 2013
Chanel Baron
marked it as to-read
Apr 25, 2013
Nils
marked it as to-read
Apr 23, 2013
Tim Tyler
added it
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| I would love to read a book on this subject but... | 1 | 1 | Feb 06, 2013 04:18am |
