Lisa Rogak

A quite interesting summary of King's early life and career up to 2008, although it is a little confusing at times, not making it clear which date is meant, as the narrative tends to dart around. For example, at one point, the book talks as if King's novel 'IT' was already published, and then, some pages later on, deals with that as an event a few years afterwards.

One thing that became obvious from the list of quotes and their sources at the back is that a lot of it is gleaned from previous biographies, interviews, introductions by King to his books and other secondary sources. In the opening section, the author describes going to chat with his assistant for half an hour and being aware of King in the corridor outside, never entering the room. She was told that she could talk to his friends and they could tell her things if they wanted, but it was not an authorised biography. So there certainly aren't any big revelations though it is clear that one or two people still felt sore about the way they felt King had treated them, especially one person who felt a story of his had been entirely ripped off (they had shared an apartment at one point and he had also been writing and had discussed a story of his). It was also interesting that he had professional relationships with certain people, such as his agent, and then dropped them with no reason given in the book.

There are probably better biographies available, but as an introduction for the general reader as opposed to dedicated fan who has already read a lot of other books about King, it is certainly adequate. So a 3 star rating for me.

… (mer)

If you are picking this up expecting a book full of personal stories about military working dogs and the unique relationship that exists between them and their handlers, you may be disappointed as this book is written more along the lines of a history of the military working dog from how they came about to their current purpose in today’s military.

It is immediately apparent when reading this book that the Author has done their research as they cover, in fine detail, the selection process for a puppy to become a Military Working Dog (MWD) right through to their retirement and transition, hopefully to a civilian life. With so much research and detail this is a book that could easily have turned into something resembling a research paper, but the Author manages to avoid this pitfall turning the book into an informative memoir through the telling of the stories of different dogs and the roles they play as a MWD. Each chapter of the boo k is given over to a particular dog and their handler, and this leads to a greater understanding of the bonds created between the two, and the heartbreak felt when one or the other is lost.

Interspersed with some wonderful photographs that show these dogs in action, this is a book that will surely capture the reader and pull them in from the very first page. It is emotional, funny, and above all informative and will give many readers a greater insight into the life of a MWD, and why they are held in such high esteem not only by their handlers, but by the Service Members they work alongside. I could write a lot more about this book in my review, but to do so would involve quoting portions of the book to illustrate what a great read it is, and I would rather the reader find that out for themselves.

I would highly recommend this book to dog lovers and those interested in the military.

Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2014/05/09/review-the-dogs-of-war-lisa-rogak/



This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.… (mer)