02/29/2016
Dickey, a contributing editor at the Oxford American, didn’t know much about pit bulls, other than the fact that some consider them dangerous, until she and her husband adopted one. She became more interested as she looked into the curious history of this unfairly maligned animal. Dickey digs deep, investigating dog fighting and breeding, and interviewing more than 350 people, including dog trainers, animal control officers, and animal behaviorists. Her research illuminates many of the facts and exposes many of the myths surrounding pit bulls and dogs in general. As she quickly learns, a pit bull is more of a body type than a breed; many species fall under the general classification. Further, many of these same animals were considered to be terrific, loving, loyal pets until the early 1970s, when dog fighting burst into the collective consciousness along with high urban crime rates . That resulted in an entirely different perspective on bigger breeds such as rottweilers, German shepherds, Doberman pinschers, and especially pit bulls. Though media-fed panics regarding certain breeds are nothing new, the bad PR surrounding pit bulls has stuck, due to unrealistic expectations of dogs, often unreliable stats, and an always-on media in search of salacious stories. Dickey’s immersive and illuminating work deserves a wide audience. (May)
An NPR Best Book of 2016
A Boston Globe Best Book of 2016
“This is a very good book… Ms. Dickey has earned her reputation as a first-rate reporter.” —The Wall Street Journal
"Terrific... [Dickey] does more than simply dispel the many myths around pit bulls; she strives to explore what those myths can tell us about ourselves. This beautifully written, heartbreaking book is not just for dog lovers — it's for anyone interested in race, class, history and the complexity of media narratives." —NPR
"Ms. Dickey not only writes about the ebb and flow of public fear and loathing, she takes the reader on a thoroughly comprehensible tour of genetics and behavioral science to explain why breeding never guarantees an individual dog’s personality, and shouldn’t be used to condemn it.... Picking out one breed to blame is neither warranted nor effective, and a reader of her book will be hard put to disagree." —The New York Times
“Brilliant… A powerful and disturbing book that shows how the rise of the killer-pit bull narrative reflects many broader American anxieties and pathologies surrounding race, class, and poverty… A remarkable study of our capacities for cruelty and compassion toward dogs and other humans, and an eloquent argument for abandoning the fears and prejudices that have made pit bulls in particular the victims of mistreatment.” —Christian Science Monitor
“Like the pit bull itself, this book is sturdy, complicated and resists easy categorization… As Dickey exhaustively demonstrates, there is no ‘aggression gene’ and no such thing as a dangerous breed.” —The New York Times Book Review
"In covering a subject that evokes strong, deep-seated emotions, Dickey herself refrains from making sweeping judgments about the pit-bull temperament. She neither condemns nor exalts these dogs. The story of the pit bull is complex, and at times heartbreaking. It’s fraught with cruelty and poverty, but also compassion, generosity, and, occasionally, clear-headed thinking. Somehow, Dickey manages to find hope for the future of this dog and its reputation." —LA Review of Books
"Assiduously researched... Dickey is relentless in exposing the brutal racism and classism at the heart of the pit bull scare. For that reason alone, her book is an invaluable resource for those who want and need a counter-narrative to the usual stereotyping of animals. Pit Bull is an important study of how one animal and its context can reveal everything about the link between race, class, and 'animality'... Dickey is clearly a superb journalist." —Current Affairs
“Sustained and heavily researched… Pit Bull is very good at framing and contextualizing the swirl of fear and aversion these dogs induced… Informative, keenly argued and engaging.” —San Francisco Chronicle
"A tremendous contribution to our understanding not only of these dogs but also of our human relationships with them. There's been too much hysteria about pit bulls, and Dickey shows that we've let myth and stereotype run wild when it comes to our thinking about these dogs." —Wayne Pacelle, CEO of the Humane Society of the United States
"A tour de force; the most comprehensive, thoughtful, and dispassionate treatment of this topic ever undertaken... Dickey’s book—a combination of exhaustive research, the presentation of impartial facts, the perceptive sense of social and political context and the addition of a rich and detailed historical framework—is an enormously valuable contribution." —Rick Bernthal, board chairman, Humane Society of the United States
"Fascinating." —World
“Judiciously filled with data, anecdotes, illustrations and a self-deprecating, canny sense of humor, Pit Bull is a constantly surprising compendium of dog lore, human foible and social prejudice… The much-maligned pit bull finds redemption in Bronwen Dickey's entertaining, thoughtful and well-researched study of this noble canine.” —Shelf Awareness
“This is more than a ‘dog book.’ Dickey has written a book that is part sociology, part history; it is an exploration of our relationship with dogs and how we view them in context with our relationship with each other; it is a look at the media and social media and how they fan the flames and spread falsehoods (on all sides of an issue); and it is a scientific view of dogs, including genetics.” —Everyday eBook
“[Dickey] repeatedly draws parallels between treatment of poor and disenfranchised humans and their dogs, and it’s damning testimony… With Dickey’s thorough reporting on a provocative topic, Pit Bull shows how the human need for something to blame can put innocent victims in the crosshairs.” —BookPage
“As appealing to readers of history and social science as it is to dog enthusiasts… With able writing, in tightly packed and thorough chapters, Dickey shares much food for thought… Dickey’s broad scope will leave readers affected and pondering.” —Booklist
“A thoughtful examination of pit bulls and an intense look at ourselves and society. Dickey adeptly scrutinizes the science used to condemn pit bulls to separate fact from fiction and thus weaves a narrative that artfully relays both the hard science and the emotion of the pit bull issue… This exceptional, thoroughly researched, and expertly written work is a must.” —Library Journal (starred review)
“An appealing look at how our relationships with man's best friend provides a mirror of cultural mores.” —Kirkus Reviews
"[Dickey] illuminates many of the facts and exposes many of the myths surrounding pit bulls and dogs in general... Dickey's immersive and illuminating work deserves a wide audience." —Publishers Weekly
“I can't stress enough how highly I recommend Pit Bull: The Battle over an American Icon. I believe it is easily among the three ‘must read’ books for anyone in animal welfare—or for anyone making policy decisions about animals. It is one of the most thoroughly researched books I've ever read about dogs, and presented in a very readable, entertaining fashion. And whether you are a newcomer to animal welfare, or a relative old-timer, or if you make policy decisions about animal welfare, this book will make you smarter, and make you question many of the things you think you know about dogs—and the people who own them.” —Kansas City Dog Blog
“The ‘pit bull’ is a legend, a fear, an exaggeration, a bête noire. Bronwen Dickey does this misunderstood animal the great service of looking beyond the myth. What she finds are dogs who deserve better than we've been giving them.” —Alexandra Horowitz, author, Inside of a Dog
“Bronwen Dickey set out to write about a single dog breed, but by investigating what happened to pit bulls she ended up writing about our whole crazy culture. Her quest began almost accidentally, when she acquired a pit bull that was nothing like its vicious stereotype. Curious, she discovered that the breed had once been an American favorite. Remember the RCA Victrola dog? It was a pit bull. So was the lovable mascot Pete the Pup in the immensely popular Our Gang movies in the 1930s. How had this symbol of friendliness and reliability become so feared that people fled when she walked her dog on the street? This beautifully assembled tale of how the pit bull was transformed into a demon perfectly captures a disquieting strain of hysteria in our national life. It's the rare dog story that tells us as much about people as about dogs.” —Charles C. Mann, author, 1491
“Bronwen Dickey’s book is a marvelously compelling read, both perfectly modulated and passionate without being strident, and completely eye-opening. She is a damn good writer, and the book is full of eloquent, sharp, clear, knowledge-bearing sentences that convinced me while they also broke down my easy and long-held assumptions. An impressive debut.” —Richard Bausch, author, Wives and Lovers
“Pit Bull tells how ‘America's Dog’ morphed into ‘America's nightmare.’ Ms. Dickey's scrupulous, encyclopedic research pretty well proves that harmless pets have been scapegoated to feed our fears. Pit Bull is a fascinating, complex story of canine genetics, media missteps and an appalling national willingness to kill poor peoples' dogs.” —Donald McCaig, author, Mr. and Mrs. Dog
“Bronwen Dickey writes so well, with such understated elegance. I spent a lifetime afraid of pit bulls, hating creatures that came to me through newspapers and the media, until I read this book.” —Pat Conroy, author, The Prince of Tides
“The pit bull is truly America's Dog, and few breeds are surrounded with as much mythology, fear and misinformation. Bronwen Dickey has written the first comprehensive explanation of how the bull terrier of the gentry transformed nearly overnight into the chained-up hellhound of the underclass. This book gets to the cultural roots of the 'demon dog' fantasy and helps us understand that the stories we tell about pit bulls are really stories about violence, class and repressed rage. Dickey is a consummate reporter and a brilliant incisive writer who has given us a book about far more than dogs.” —Tom Zoellner, author, Train: Riding the Rails that Created the Modern World
"This is one of the best dog books you will ever read. But, it is also about the big stuff – the moral status of animals, the science of nature and nurture, the role of race in our culture. In Pit Bull, Bronwen Dickey weaves a tale in which the most divisive of animal issues becomes a metaphor for deep-seated conflicts in American society." —Hal Herzog, author, Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat
2016-03-08
In her debut, essayist and journalist Dickey, a contributor to the Oxford American, addresses how the prevailing negative image of pit bulls is not only misguided, but also a mark of broader social prejudices. The author notes how iconic images of pit bulls "as snarling beasts" are frequently evoked to market a wide variety of products, from sunglasses to energy drinks. During the 2008 election, Sarah Palin joked that the only difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull was lipstick. The well-publicized 2007 indictment of NFL quarterback Michael Vick for his involvement in illegal dogfights between pit bulls was not only shocking, but it reinforced the negative image of the dogs. After adopting a pit bull herself, Dickey was shocked to witness the negative responses her pet evoked. Tracing the breed's history in the United States, she learned this was not always the case. The author traces the pit bull's decline from social prominence, partly due to the mythology associated with purebreds. After World War II, she writes, when middle-class Americans began to populate suburbs, status symbols took on a new importance, and "dog fanciers turned breeds into brands…large pedigreed dogs became essential components of the all-American 1950s family." Social stratification was mirrored by the stratification assigned to pedigreed dogs as opposed to mutts, and breeders amplified these ideas. Fads and fashion became significant when selecting a pet, while temperament was devalued; owning a dog without a pedigree carried a social stigma. At the same time, pit bulls, due to their association with dogfights, became suspect in the popular imagination, singled out by media hysteria over isolated incidences of dog bites by the breed. Such coverage in the media contributed to a law in Denver that requires pit pull owners to take out a $300,000 dog-insurance policy. An appealing look at how our relationships with man's best friend provides a mirror of cultural mores.
