Reviewed by Brenda G.
Often
I am a fiction reader, but here, I read two non-fiction works at once. Book
number two explains why the first book’s miraculous escape, due to a man-dog
partnership, was possible.
Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man,
His Guide Dog, & the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero, by Michael
Hingson with Suzy Flory. Nashville: Thomas Nelson. 2011. 232 pages. Includes
bibliography and notes.
I
enjoyed Thunder Dog and the learning
it provided not only about the dramatic escape from the World Trade Center, but
also about the powerful relationship between the author and his guide dog
Roselle. Many other topics are woven into the retelling of the events of
September 11, 2001, including Hingson’s life, education, career, and
information about guide dog training. I felt admiration for Hingson and his
dog. Under extraordinary circumstances, they managed an impressive escape from
the Twin Towers. After exiting the building, they had to escape the dust cloud
that accompanied the collapse of the buildings, and then manage to find a way
to his New Jersey home. A co-worker was with Hingson part of the way, down the
stairs, out the door, through the dust cloud, into shelter, and then Hingson
moved on again. The co-worker did not guide Hingson; Roselle did that. The
friend’s help and companionship were beneficial but Hingson and Roselle seemed
to be a fairly self-sufficient unit. I did occasionally become a bit impatient
with some details of earlier and later life, but this is a good read about an
admirable escape that casts a different light upon the experiences of those
fortunate enough to escape the World Trade Center on that fateful day.
The Dog in the Cave : the Wolves who Made
Us Human, by Kay Frydenborg. Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017.
246 pages. Includes index and bibliography.
How
many accolades can I give this book? How long have humans and dogs, first as
gray wolves in Europe and Asia, the precursor of all dogs, a species now
extinct, worked together for mutual benefit? Research is indicating a
friendship encompassing some forty thousand years, much longer than scientists
once believed. The facts and the research basis for those facts are clear and
well-delineated in this work. Theories are described as such in an
understandable way. The author describes research underway to determine the
intelligence of dogs, probably greater than we ever believed, and the special
bond that exists between humans and the dogs bonded to them. This bonding seems
to involve the eyes of both – fascinating yet seemingly so observable.
This
work is written for a young adult audience but is well-suited for adults. I
recommend A Dog in the Cave to anyone
interested in the topic, from the age of 12 to 99+. I am looking for other
books on the topic and looking for another dog since Charley went to his
heavenly reward last year.
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