E.B. White on Dogs

What a wonderful gift, to see E. B. White's writing on dogs published in one volume. White brought to dogs the same brilliant qualities he brought to his writings about life--his gentleness, perceptiveness, and rich, sometimes biting humor. He got dogs, loved them dearly, saw them clearly, wrote about them brilliantly. This is a necessary work for any dog- or animal-lover. --Jon Katz, author of the new collection of short stories, Dancing Dogs, and many other books, lives at Bedlam FarmImpossible to resist! ----Joe Coomer, author The Loop, Pocketful of Names, Apologizing to Dogs, and other booksE. B. White, dog enthusiast and keen observer, liked to opine about what made his many dogs do what they did. Predating the blogosphere by nearly a century, White's personable storytelling retains its freshness and immediacy and will charm and enlighten a new generation of dog-lovers. ----Claudia Kawczynska, Editor in Chief, The Bark From the Inside Flap In E. B. White on Dogs, his granddaughter and manager of his literary estate, Martha White, has compiled the best and funniest of his essays, poems, letters, and sketches depicting over a dozen of White's various canine companions. Featured here are favorite essays such as Two Letters, Both Open, where White takes on the Internal Revenue Service, and also Bedfellows, with its fraudulent reports from White's ignoble old dachshund, Fred. (I just saw an eagle go by. It was carrying a baby.) From The New Yorker's Talk of the Town are some little-known Notes and Comment pieces covering dog shows, sled dog races, and the trials and tribulations of city canines, chief among them a Scottie called Daisy who was kicked out of Schrafft's, arrested, and later run down by a Yellow Cab, prompting The New Yorker to run her Obituary. Some previously unpublished photographs from the E. B. White estate show over a dozen of the family dogs, from the first collie, to various labs, Scotties, dachshunds, terriers, half-breeds, and mutts, all well-loved. In E. B. White on Dogs, his granddaughter and manager of his literary estate, Martha White, has compiled the best and funniest of his essays, poems, letters, and sketches depicting over a dozen of White's various canine companions. Featured here are favorite essays such as “Two Letters, Both Open,” where White takes on the Internal Revenue Service, and also “Bedfellows,” with its “fraudulent reports” from White's ignoble old dachshund, Fred. (“I just saw an eagle go by. It was carrying a baby.”) From The New Yorker's “Talk of the Town” are some little-known “Notes and Comment” pieces covering dog shows, sled dog races, and the trials and tribulations of city canines, chief among them a Scottie called Daisy who was kicked out of Schrafft's, arrested, and later run down by a Yellow Cab, prompting The New Yorker to run her “Obituary.” Some previously unpublished photographs from the E. B. White estate show over a dozen of the family dogs, from the first collie, to various labs, Scotties, dachshunds, terriers, half-breeds, and mutts, all well-loved. Martha White , granddaughter of E. B. White and manager of White Literary LLC, edited the updated Letters of E. B. White (HarperCollins, 2006), as well as In the Words of E.B. White: Quotations from America’s Most Companionable of Writers (Cornell University Press, 2011). As a contributing writer and editor to Yankee Magazine’s Old Farmer’s Almanac, White wrote two weekly syndicated columns and was the author of Traditional Home Remedies (Time-Life, 1997). Her essays have appeared in the New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, Boston Globe, Country Journal, Down East, Early American Life, Family Circle, Garden Design, and many other publications. Read more