Times-Echo Book Review: June 4, 2026

“The Dog’s Gaze”

By Thomas W. Laqueur,  c.2026, The Penguin Press,  $45.00, 416 pages

“Cats: A History”

By Rod Phillips, c. 2026, Johns Hopkins University Press,  $32.95, 442 pages

Make your choice. Dogs or cats?

That’s a common question, and the answer usually has about a 50 percent scowl rate. Are you a dog person? Or a cat person? Why not each? Why pick one? Better yet, say yes to both — and these great books …

Chances are, your camera is full of pictures of your puppers. You have more photos of him than you have of people, places and things – and you’re not alone. Our dogs are adorable, beloved, photogenic, hilarious and as for having images of them, artists in the past couldn’t resist, either. See how much in “The Dog’s Gaze: A Visual History” by Thomas W. Laqueur (The Penguin Press, $45).

Long before there was a word for them, canines were featured in art, from cave walls to canvas. No other animal, says Laqueur, appears in art more than a dog – but why?

Here, he leads readers to see that the presence of a dog in portraiture isn’t just a coincidence or some random appearance in a painting. Dogs in art, Laqueur says, reflect everything else the artist painted in the portrait, and that presence may be loaded with metaphor. Look hard into a painting, really think about what you’re seeing and you’ll understand how artists perceived the dog as humans’ “witness,” protector, helpmate and friend.

This is a great book for anyone who loves art and it’s something unique for any dog lover.

Much like your friends who have canines, your social media is full of cute cat pictures and you have more to post. You’re an unabashed “cat person” and in “Cats: A History” by Rod Phillips (Johns Hopkins University, $32.95), you’ll see how cats traveled from well outside the human hearth to having their own spot on the bed, all in just a mere 10,000 years.

Cats have gotten a bad rap through history: They’ve been persecuted, cursed and thought to be cursed. They were mere rodent-hunters once, and some people today think they’re ecological disasters. But Phillips doesn’t just bring that information along in his book: Readers will see how felines have had their place in religion, politics, gender and other facets of human life, and how the presence of a cat in your house can help understand how you feel about dogs, mice and rats and other humans.

Don’t just look for this book for yourself, though. Find it for all the animal lovers in your life, because it will offer them insight, too.

And if these books aren’t enough to satisfy your urge to know about the creatures you share your home (and maybe your bed!) with, then head to your favorite bookstore or library and ask the staff to point you in the direction of books like these. There, you’ll find lots of worthwhile reading on breeds, behavior, biographies and more – and not just about cats and dogs; in fact, there are so many books about animals for you to read, that it’s gonna be hard to choose.

Why pick just one?

— The Bookworm Sez