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Rating: 
Summary: GREAT IDEA, POORLY EXECUTED
Review: Desmond Morris had a great idea: produce a comprehensive encyclopedia of all known breeds, with brief descriptions and drawings instead of photos, to keep the size and cost down. Unfortunately, the result is disappointing. First, don't get excited about the "over 1000" breeds, more than twice any other similar book. Morris lists many extinct breeds, which, while interesting, make comparison to similar books misleading. Also, he lists as separate, variations of single breeds. For example, he has 14 different greyhounds! Who knew Sudan had 3 different greyhound breeds. Secondly, many of the descriptions have numerous errors...pick the breeds you're most familiar with, and you'll see. Third, the drawings are horrid. I would not have recognized some breeds that I am extremely familiar with from the drawings.
I do like his functional classification scheme. Including "edible dogs" was interesting. And it was refreshing to see a "fighting dog" category. But ultimately, the effort fails.
Wilcox and Walkowicz's Atlas of Dog Breeds of the World remains the best all breed encyclopedia.
Rating: 
Summary: The Most Comprehensive -- and Accurate -- Dictionary
Review: Dog breed books must be a big seller -- look at all of them that are published. Rare breeds are particularly of interest to people who are looking for alternatives to what they feel are "overbred" commonly seen registered breeds. However, articles and information on such breeds are usually limited to personal accounts and sometimes questionable histories.Desmond Morris does what no other encyclopedia or atlas of dogs has done. He has managed to give accurate accounts of some very rare dog breeds. Admirably, with recognized breeds, he has not fallen into the trap of relying on any one western/European dog club's or individual's perceptions. For example, in the case of Turkish native dog breeds he has found and cited credible Turkish sources. No small task! The format of the book is something else I appreciate - it isn't oversized, probably because it has not included photos of the breeds (it does have line drawings). If I had but one wish for this book - it would be to somehow include photos. But then the very reasonable price would have to be increased -- along with its current 752 pages! An excellent read for people looking for information without a bias done by a world-renowned writer.
Rating:
Summary: The Most Comprehensive -- and Accurate -- Dictionary
Review: Dog breed books must be a big seller -- look at all of them that are published. Rare breeds are particularly of interest to people who are looking for alternatives to what they feel are "overbred" commonly seen registered breeds. However, articles and information on such breeds are usually limited to personal accounts and sometimes questionable histories. Desmond Morris does what no other encyclopedia or atlas of dogs has done. He has managed to give accurate accounts of some very rare dog breeds. Admirably, with recognized breeds, he has not fallen into the trap of relying on any one western/European dog club's or individual's perceptions. For example, in the case of Turkish native dog breeds he has found and cited credible Turkish sources. No small task! The format of the book is something else I appreciate - it isn't oversized, probably because it has not included photos of the breeds (it does have line drawings). If I had but one wish for this book - it would be to somehow include photos. But then the very reasonable price would have to be increased -- along with its current 752 pages! An excellent read for people looking for information without a bias done by a world-renowned writer.
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