It's a very substantial and heavy book. Paper quality is reasonable but the binding (for such a heavy book) could have been better. A few rare breeds (possibly extinct) are depicted with drawings, but all other breeds are represented by at least one photograph (often more). Photograph reproduction is unfortunately only of average quality.

Chapters describing each major dog group (Gun Dogs, Herding Dogs etc) preface the book, providing the reader with useful introduction to canine diversity and function

Each breed is described by country of origin, weight, height, coat, registry and group. The authors also provide reasonable summary of each breed's function, temperament, historical background and current development. Subtle humour permeates the book ... "Like a Dr. Suess creation, the Basset has the head & bone of a Bloodhound, the colouring of a Foxhound and the legs of a Dachshund ...".

The authors' stated aim was to produce a survey on the breeds of dog known to man. While some reviews say the book is not complete, this reader believes the authors have (for the most part) succeeded admirably with a volume that's well researched, as interesting to read as it is informative.

All in all, a very good read and an excellent reference source.


THE BOOK I DIDN'T BUY YET-JUST REVIEWED   November 28, 2002
 7 out of 23 found this review helpful

I, UNLIKE BROOKLYNBOY HAVE A DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW.IT ISN'T THAT HE DIDN'T HAVE GREAT THINGS TO SAY ABOUT THE BOOK,BUT ON THE OTHER HAND,I AM A BOOK COLLECTOR(DOG BOOKS). THIS BOOK HAS GOT TO BE ONE OF THE BEST WRITTEN,HAS SOME OF THE BEST PHOTOGRAPHY,UP TO DATE WITH BREED STANDARDS(AND RARETIES),WELL IN-FORMED.THERE IS INFORMATION ABOUT EXTINCT BREEDS AND HOW BREEDS ARE STIL SO VERY MUCH A PART OF ALMOST EVERYTHING ...............PER-SAY........MEANING .....A DOG IS A SHEPHERD ,A BABYSITTER, A POLICEDOG, A HUNTER, A THERAPIST,A GUIDE DOG,SEARCH AND RESCUE,OUR HEROES,AND OUR HEARTS,ETC. I GUESS I COULD GO ON AND ON,BUT MY POINT WAS I'VE BEEN WANTING THIS BOOK FOR A LONG TIME AND JUST COULDN'T FIND NOR AFFORD IT AT THE TIME.FOR WHAT EVER IT IS WORTH,I JUST WANTED TO LET EVERYONE KNOW THAT I HAVEN'T EVEN REALLY READ THE BOOK(NOT REALLY),>YOU SEE I WENT INTO A PETSTORE ONE DAY TO LOOK AT THE PUPS AND THIS BOOK WAS THERE AND I PROBABLY SAT ON THE FLOOR FOR ABOUT 1 AND 1/2 HOURS READING VERY INTERESTING, INFORMATIVE, GREAT PHOTOS,A GENIUS OF A BOOK,AND I FELL IN LOVE WITH IT(JUST MY SIZE).I DID NOT WANT TO PUT THIS BOOK DOWN.SO YOU SEE HOW DESPERATE I AM TO WANT AN ATLAS FOR MYSELF......WELL,I STILL HAVE TO WAIT A FEW MORE DAYS UNTIL I CAN ORDER THE BOOK.EVEN THOUGH I HAVEN'T READ IT,I SURELY WOULD RECOMMEND IT,I HAVE READ A LOT OF DOG BOOKS AND IT TAKES A GOOD ONE TO SET ME DOWN,ESPECIALLY IN A STORE(ON A FLOOR ,FOR 1 AND 1/2 HOURS NO LESS)THANKS FOR YOUR TIME!


Unrealized potential   March 14, 2002
 11 out of 12 found this review helpful

I highly recommend The Atlas of Dog Breeds of the World for anyone interested in discovering the wealth of the canine world. It does present more breeds than any recently published book. I have owned the first and fifth editions and there were indeed many revised and updated chapters. However,this book has by no means exhausted its subject, the quality of photos was not always exclellent, and sometimes poor. A number of breeds were poorly researched with drawings instead of photos,and outdated information, as was the case with the Greek Shepherd dog and Hellenikos Ichnilatis of my native Greece. With a litte effort beautiful photos of both breeds could have been obtained. Perhaps other breeds were treated in a similar fashion. There is a huge number of breeds left out from East and Western Europe,Japan, Taipei, China, Tibet, the former Soviet Union,Africa,Central and South America and last but not least India. The primitive dog group of the tropics is grossly underrepresented. In the case of India, there are in fact recent high quality photos of Indian breeds, that almost no book has so far bothered to present to the world. Listing only accompanied by outdated, unresearched text does little justice to living breathing dog breeds. Many of the ignored breeds are localised but well fixed and with breed clubs protecing them. I hope that future revised editions will deal with these ignored breeds that most people will never see in the flesh. Modern communication technology surely makes data collection far easier than in the last two centuries that ironically saw vast dog encyclopedias published with inferior technology. My ideal dog breed book would be a hybrid between Bruce Fogles' Encyclopedia of the Dog superior photography and text, and the great scope of The Atlas of Dog Breeds of the World.


Invalueable photos,but some text errors!   October 12, 2001
 18 out of 18 found this review helpful

Well,I can say that this is an over all excellent dog book.
It is from TFH Publishing,which makes many good pet books.
The book contains over 1200 color photographs of 400 dog breeds.
It often has many photos of the same breed,to show different color variations,as the case with the english buldog for example.
This isn`t just the simple dog guide you`re reading when you`re going to bed. This book is of molossus proportions,weighing 3 pounds!There are some breeds that can be found here which cannot be found in any other dog book,but there are also some breeds missing here - the Cane Corso for example.
Although I do not own any dog myself,I like them. And there is alot of usefull information on dog breeds. For example their
dimensions in inches & weight,typical behavior,suitability with children,country of origin,and much more.
But there are still some negative comments I have about this book. And the first is : there are some breeds treated here that are extinct (take the American Hairless Terrier for example)and therefore,the information on them is out of date.
The second errors are in the classification of breed groups. For example,the pyrenean dog is classified as a mastiff - it should be among the shepherd dogs. Mastiffs are the more bulldog like dogs,as the English Buldog. And the pitbull terrier should be classified as a terrier,not as a mastiff.
And yet,the book is a little pricy. It wasn`t really worth that much. Therefore,I would mostly like to recommend it to the real dog enthusiast,that can`t get enough of them. If you are one of those,then take it. If you want a cheaper guide,then Bruce Fogle`s "Dog Encyclopedia" is strongly recommended.