The History of the World in Fifty Dogs

by Mackenzi Lee, Petra Eriksson (Illustrator)

New York Times bestselling author Mackenzi Lee teams up with artist Petra Eriksson for The History of the World in Fifty Dogs , an illustrated collection of stories about dogs that knew how to sit, stay, and witness history.

Most dog lovers know Fido and Laika, but how about Martha, Paul McCartney’s Old English Sheepdog? Or Peritas, Alexander the Great’s trusted canine companion? As long as there have been humans, those humans have had beloved companions—their dogs. From the ancient Egyptians mummifying their pups, to the Indian legend of the king who refused to enter the afterlife unless his dog was allowed there too, to the modern meme and popularity of terms like the corgi sploot, humans are undeniably obsessed with their dogs.

Told in short, illustrated essays that are interspersed with both historical and canine factoids, The History of the World in Fifty Dogs brings to life some of history’s most memorable moments through the stories of the dogs that saw them happen.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Animals, Dogs, Humor, Ebooks, Historical

190 pages, Hardcover

First published October 15, 2019

About the author

Mackenzi Lee writes books you might have read. And she no longer uses Goodreads or accepts friend requests.

Reviews

[JD · Rating 1 out of 5]

This looked like a great combination for me as I love history, and I love dogs... But unfortunately, the author could not bring these two together for me. She tries to be overly funny and uses too many references to taking selfies and social media (especially instagram). The stories are also just of dogs that were referenced during history (some of them myth) and they rarely influenced events. Most of the events they were a part of was also not world changing. Very bad book... I should really start learning my lesson with these wannabe history books that try to be too quirky.

[Margot · Rating 3 out of 5]

3-3.5 ⭐
Oh boy. I am a dog person and it really hurts me to give this book only something between 3 and 3.5 stars, but it is what it is.
I really loved the stories, every single one was amazing and interesting and I learned lots of interesting things. And they were all good dogs. Very good dogs indeed.
But I hated the style. Mackenzi tried and failed to be funny. Her jokes were just... Cringe worthy. Mentioning Instagram in most of the chapters? Reminding us that white people are the worst (yes, we are, look at yourself Mackenzi, huh)? Mentioning her dog every chance she had? (I know you live your dog, I love mine as well, but I wasn't reading this book for your dog). Not my cup of tea.
Plus the book needed some better editing because there was lots of mistakes there.
Another thing I really loved was the illustrations. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!
Quite disappointed, but still enjoyed it.

[Jerecho · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's nice to read something like this. Informative and fun.

[jessica ☾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely adored this, if only my high school history class had included more dogs I would’ve actually paid attention! These dogs are all such good boys and I desperately wish I could give each and every one of them some tummy rubs.

Not five stars because as the mom of a Min Pin, I feel as though his breed should have some recognition- they’re so cute!

[Abril Camino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me lo he bebido en tres días porque es precioso. Cincuenta "historias de la historia" relacionadas de una u otra manera con perros (con eso a mí ya me tenía ganada). Está escrito con un tono humorístico que le quita peso a las explicaciones históricas y es de esos libros que se lee casi sin que nos demos cuenta y sin borrarnos la sonrisa de los labios.

[Emily Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the style really irritating. I'm sure there are fans of this woman's writing out there, but it feels like it was written for people exactly like her. I read a lot of dog books and I don't think I've read one where the information was good and generally well-researched, but where the style grated on my nerves so much that I almost sped-read the last twenty chapters. I couldn't stomach the faux-cheery narrative voice - really not for me. It was so smug I ended up unable to get past the *waves to my fiction editor* and the h*cking and the forking. Maybe it's good for her fans, but for a new reader coming to this author, I won't be reading any of her other texts. The information is written as if for children and then all the unnecessary author intervention just made it really clear that it's not for children, not for adults who don't share her world and not for dog enthusiasts who prefer Horowitz, Warren or Hare.

Plus, it was REALLY expensive for what it was. Oh well. Fool me once, and all that.

[Ed. Tablas · Rating 3 out of 5]

En este libro se habla de los pequeños felpudos (canes) y las diferentes razas que formaron parte de la vida de algunos hombres y mujeres famosos en la historia. Por ejemplo los perros “guerreros” de la antigua Roma, el amigo inseparable de Freud, y de varios presidentes norteamericanos y de la realeza en Europa entre otros. Esperaba más información sobre el origen de la raza en sí y no tanto en la historia de los dueños , como tal. También el lenguaje es muy coloquial para mi gusto.

[Dev · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started out really enjoying this but it just became grating after awhile. I don't remember the writing style in Bygone Badass Broads being this annoyingly cutesy but maybe it was and I just have a much lower tolerance for that sort of thing now. Overall there was a lot of really great information and I cried over a lot of the awesome rescue dogs featured but the writing style and the fact that 'the history of the world' apparently means '80% of the book is dedicated to American and European dogs in the past 300ish years' means I have to give this 3 stars instead of 4. Definitely worth a read but be prepared for a lot of 'how are you doing, fellow kids?' style jokes that fall incredibly flat in my opinion.

[Renata · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's no secret that I'm a cat person, but still, I enjoyed this animal-themed look at history. It's like a small coffee table book or printed out Buzzfeed list--very breezy and internet-conversational in tone, in the vein of Bygone Badass Broads: 52 Forgotten Women Who Changed the World. The illustrations are very cute tho in some cases I wished for photos! Oh well that's what the internet is for I suppose!

[Karen]

I grabbed this fun little book on my way to the register at the bookstore for my annual Dog Days of Summer reading challenge hosted by La La in the Library.

The book tells the stories of 52 dogs from history. There's a really good range starting with Egypt - Bark Like an Egyptian: Abuwtiyuw, History's First Recorded Dog with a Name and ending with Furgin Rebirth - How Snuppy Became the World's First Cloned Dog. There are dogs of war, dogs of royalty, therapy dogs and more.

Each story is told in historical context, occasionally with more emphasis on the historical moment than the dog, but still a very quick summary of events and a dogs part in them. Many chapters have a "sidebark" - footnotes section with relevant tidbits an illustration by Petra Eriksson, in the style of the cover art, of the dog featured.

All the profiles are quick 2-3 pages and told in a light (but honest about the time period) slightly snarky tone. Lee relies a lot on pop culture/meme style language and that can be annoying or you can just roll with it.

An example: " Good bois were all over Egypt - it's unde-Nile-able. *shows self out*

Honestly, it could get a little grating but is a fast read.

This book would be good as a stocking stuffer for a dog lover or coffee table book where you pick it up here & there.

[Maia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has the same form as Bygone Badass Broads: 52 Forgotten Women Who Changed the World and it's awesome!

I read this because I love dogs and guess what? Mackenzi Lee does too, she really, really loves dogs. When I read Bygone Badass Broads: 52 Forgotten Women Who Changed the World, I particularly loved the sarcastic comments and the little jokes, well, we find them in here too and that was just the best.
So, yeah, this book is a lot of fun (Mackenzi Lee is hilarious!) and you learn quite a few things, I kind of hope Mackenzi Lee write a bunch of other books like that :)

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is written, in my opinion, for teenagers. The author spends many sentences describing her preferences on Instagram, and gives very brief summaries of selected historical events with references to dogs.

[Sabrina Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ This was honestly much better than I expected! There was more historical information than I expected and a lot of interesting facts sprinkled throughout. The artwork was great too! Know that there are some chapters that are hard to read, like learning about dogs trained to do terrible things during war, but I got through these chapters since each was only about 5 minutes long, give or take, on my Kindle. However, know that there is one chapter I had to skip that talked about animal testing, but the author kindly started it with a content warning. The one negative, and it’s a doozy, is the writing style. I can only describe it as written like it’s an Instagram caption with lots of annoying lingo like “good boi” and “what the fork”. For me, this took a really educational and enjoyable read and made it a bit cringe and took me out of the book. This was just a conscious decision on writing style that I didn’t care for and didn’t seem to mesh with who I think the book appeals to. If you can look past that, this was a unique book told through a really original lens.

[Coleccionista de finales tristes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro que gustará a todos los amantes de perros

[Pili · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading about dogs in general is always good, and learning new historical bits with doggies in them, is even better! So loved it! 15/10 will pet!

[Monique · Rating 5 out of 5]

I may have been annoying everyone around me with random dog facts I learned from this book. My mom facepalmed when I brought up another during lunch. So this book is totally worth reading in my opinion!

This book is basically a collection of short stories, each story taking only a few pages, and that’s a perfect format to keep it interesting. I read a few each day, so I wouldn’t be overwhelmed. There were many interesting stories, and Mackenzi adds her own commentary throughout, which is often hilarious, which is very nice in itself and even better when the subject is heavy.

Because yes, some subjects were heavy. I skipped two stories because I couldn’t handle it. Not the dogs of course, all the dogs are good bois and gals, but what humans do to them is just too much. We truly don’t deserve dogs.

As far as I can tell it’s extremely well researched! I thought I could detect one tiny mistake with Willem van Oranje but... she was right, I stand corrected.

This was one of the best non fiction books I read this year and I think many people and all dog lovers will adore this book, as it’s easy to read and so so so interesting!

[Mandy Helfer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love dogs, I love history, I hated this book.

[Teddy · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. this is written like Instagram captions. Not for me <3

[SaraKat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this book at the library on a dog book display. It looked interesting and when I flipped through it, the art caught my attention immediately. When I started reading it, I found I liked the style and arrangement. The author's voice is like that of a Tik-Tok channel--using internet lingo-- and fans of doggo's online will like it. The portraits of the dogs were all simple, but lovely. I enjoyed the small slices of history with a focus on the dogs who were there. Some of the stories were sad, some maddening, and most were just fun. Since all of these dogs lived long ago, the dogs all die at the end, but it isn't a surprise and the author is gentle about it. The one truly upsetting chapter has a warning before it and you can skip it.

Content notes: some bad language, several references to white people being the worst (historically speaking), some innuendo

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really, really enjoyed this! I learned a lot of really interesting historical facts about the very best doggos, and the writing was both interesting and funny. Also, the illustrations were very pretty! I now have a lot of fun facts to share about dogs, and I learned more about the various time periods as well.

My only drawback about this book is that it was let down by its editor. I caught WAY too many typos and mistakes while reading. One or two is understandable, more than that seems sloppy.

[Annie Z. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t even remember exactly how I found and downloaded this book but I loved it. I learned about one of my favorite things in the world - dogs but also a lot of world history and trivia. This reminds me of when I was a child and read the Dog Lovers Encyclopedia.

A bonus that the author is pretty goofy and hilarious.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was perfect, why this doesn't have several 10 000 ratings baffles me. This was so delightful and moving. It is a perfect example of social history and how events are more then just their summaries in textbooks.

Not to mention that it has cute illustrations.

[J.J. Lair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative book. She writes like I imagine she talks with slang text-talk, and puns. We start in ancient times and go right up to recent years. The stories have fun, sadness, troubling history and heroes.
I enjoyed the voice of the writer so much, I follow her on Instagram and Twitter.

[Caro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Von Abuwtiyuw, dem geliebten Hund eines ägyptischen Pharaos, bis hin zu den Rettungshunden von 9/11, zeichnet Mackenzie Lee die Weltgeschichte anhand von verschiedenen Hunden nach. Ein etwas anderes Geschichtsbuch, das aber sehr unterhaltsam ist.
Die Illustrationen von Petra Eriksson machen dieses Buch ausserdem zu einem wahren Kunstwerk.

Die perfekte Lektüre für alle Hundeliebhaber:innen!

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorite part of Fifty Dogs is the colorful graphic illustrations by Petra Eriksson. Each captures the dog’s persona, and often its story. The text, while it contains a wealth of information, is often presented in an snarky and petulant manner, judging history by today’s standards. It’s ironic how Lee labels some of history’s players as “judgy.” Also, too many self-references and jokes that fall flat.

The information and illustrations make the book worth reading. The ultra-short story format makes for pleasant bedtime or work break reading. Lee has amassed a wealth of stories, from the well-known like the Queen’s corgis, Laika the first being to orbit Earth, and John Muir’s Stickeen, to the more obscure, like Alexander Graham Bell’s talking dog and Isaac Newton’s neurotic Pom.

My favorite sections: Lord Byron’s Boatswain (though the author judges the poet’s lifestyle harshly), Urian, the dog possibly behind the Pope’s refusing Henry VIII’s request for divorce (bad dog), and the ancient history of the Pekingese. Also, Abuwtiyuw, the first dog name recorded, in ancient Egypt.

An interesting book to find on a vacation rental shelf or anywhere that people borrow short-term reads.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

THEY’RE GOOD DOGS BRENT!

[Elizabeth M Mizikar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had so much fun reading this book!

[Jessica Strunk · Rating 3 out of 5]

A smidge overboard on the cute level. And a tad lacking on dog stories/facts. Fun read

[SheLove2Read · Rating 1 out of 5]

How do you ruin a book about DOGS?! You try too hard to be funny, you include stories that aren't well researched, and best of all....you blame everything on "white people".

[Leila Jaafari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this! Both factual and super cute!