Pit Bull: The Battle over an American Icon

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Pit Bull: The Battle over an American Icon
AuthorBronwen Dickey
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreScience & Nature
PublisherKnopf[1]
Publication date
  • 10 May 2016
Media typePrint (hardback and paperback)
Pages336
ISBN9780307961761

Pit Bull: The Battle over an American Icon by Bronwen Dickey is a book about the history of pit bulls in the United States.

Content[edit]

The book examines the mixed sentiment towards the pit bull breed by the American public and how the media has affected that perception.[1] Dickey spent seven years researching the topic and interviewed hundreds of people ranging from animal behaviorists to trainers.[1][2][3]

Reception[edit]

The book received a mostly positive reception from critics.[4][5]

The Wall Street Journal said that "Ms. Dickey has earned her reputation as a first-rate reporter.”[6] The New York Times stated that "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."[7]

The Christian Science Monitor called it “brilliant" and "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."[8]

Anti-pit bull advocates accused Dickey of downplaying the potential danger of pit bull dogs.[9] She also received death threats at book signings.[10][11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Nonfiction Book Review: Pit Bull: The Battle Over an American Icon by Bronwen Dickey. Knopf, $26.95 (336p) ISBN 978-0-307-96176-1". Publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  2. ^ Rivero, Daniel (26 May 2016). "The racist story behind the pit bull's fall from American icon to demon dog". Splinternews.com. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  3. ^ "Fear, loathing, and the mythology of the pit bull: Bronwen Dickey on America's most divisive dog - Atlanta Magazine". Atlantamagazine.com. 16 May 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  4. ^ "PIT BULL by Bronwen Dickey - Kirkus Reviews". Kirkusreviews.com. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  5. ^ "Pit Bull: The Battle over an American Icon - Manhattan Book Review". Manhattanbookreview.com. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  6. ^ Shipman, Pat (27 May 2016). "Breeding Contempt". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 8 July 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2018 – via www.wsj.com. (subscription required)
  7. ^ Gorman, James (27 May 2016). "Review: 'Pit Bull' Traces Path From Fighter to Pet to Demon". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2016-07-18. Retrieved 10 July 2018. (subscription required)
  8. ^ "'Pit Bull' aims to tell the story of a maligned breed". Christian Science Monitor. 17 May 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  9. ^ "Pit bull author's critics are off the leash – Shaffer". Newsobserver.com. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2018. (subscription required)
  10. ^ "An author says she hoped to advance the debate about pit bulls. Instead, she became a target". Washington Post. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  11. ^ Klein, David (20 July 2016). "Pit Bulls May or May Not Be Dangerous. But Bronwen Dickey Can Attest That Writing About Them Definitely Is". Indyweek.com. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
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