The wolf in the parlor : the eternal connection between humans and dogs

Title:

Author:

Franklin, Jon.

Personal Author:

Franklin, Jon.

ISBN:

9780805090772

Edition:

1st ed.

Publication Information:

New York : Henry Holt, 2009.

Physical Description:

xiv, 283 p. ; 25 cm.

General Note:

Includes index.

Abstract:

Building on evolutionary science, archaeology, behavioral science, and the firsthand experience of watching his own dog evolve from puppy to family member, Franklin posits that man and dog are more than just inseparable; they are part and parcel of the same creature.

Subject Term:

Dogs -- Behavior.

Human-animal relationships.

Summary:

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Main Library	Book	636.7 H832	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

A man and puppy exhumed from a 12,000-year-old grave sends a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer on a journey to the dogs

Of all the things hidden in plain sight, dogs are one of the most enigmatic. They are everywhere but how much do we really know about where they came from and what the implications are of their place in our world? Jon Franklin set out to find out and ended up spending a decade studying the origins and significance of the dog and its peculiar attachment to humans. As the intellectual pursuit of his subject began to take over Franklin's life, he married a dog lover and was quickly introduced to the ancient and powerful law of nature, to wit: Love me, love my dog. Soon Franklin was sharing hearth and home with a soulful and clever poodle named Charlie.

And so began one man's journey to the dogs, an odyssey that would take him from a 12,000-year-old grave to a conclusion so remarkable as to change our perception of ourselves. Building on evolutionary science, archaeology, behavioral science, and the firsthand experience of watching his own dog evolve from puppy to family member, Franklin posits that man and dog are more than just inseparable; they are part and parcel of the same creature. Along the way, The Wolf in the Parlor imparts a substantial yet painless education on subjects as far ranging as psychological evolution and neurochemistry. In this groundbreaking book, master storyteller Franklin shatters the lens through which we see the world and shows us an unexpected, enthralling picture of the human/canine relationship.

Reviews (1)

Kirkus Review

Pulitzer Prizewinning science writer Franklin (Journalism/Univ. of Maryland; The Molecules of the Mind, 1987, etc.) explores the symbiotic relationship between man and dog. When the author proposed to his wife, her response was, "Does this mean that I can have a puppy?" His agreement was the beginning of a happy marriage and a love affair with Charlie, the poodle who joined their family. Franklin's world was changed as he shared Charlie's joy and pondered his awareness of things "just beyond the reach of everyday human beings." It wasn't surprising that the poodle could nose out hidden wildlife, but he seemed to perceive the emotions of people by their smell as well. During his years on the science beat for the Baltimore Sun, Franklin followed advances in archeology, anthropology and neuroanatomy, but he was startled to find little scientific information about dogs. "How could an animal be everywhere, and yet go almost completely unnoticed by the very people whose job it was to notice things?" he asked himself. Chancing upon a photograph taken at a dig in the Jordan Valley that revealed a man and a pup buried together at a site estimated to be 12,000 years old, he began a ten-year quest to unravel the relationship between the evolution of humans and dogs, both of which appear to have emerged in their modern form at the same time. Franklin branches off in many fascinating directions. Noting that excavations of 400,000-year-old sites show wolf bones and human artifacts intermixed, he speculates that wolves who followed primitive pre-humans were gradually transformed into dogs, which then participated in the domestication of other animals. He concludes that mankind and dogs have evolved symbiotically and are psychologically as essential to each other today as in the pastthe dogs for sustenance and the human for companionship and to dump the occasional "emotional weight"with brains that have evolved accordingly. Should delight dog-lovers and science buffs alike, even though many of Franklin's conjectures can't be proven. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.