HOW THE DOG BECAME THE DOG author Mark Derr in the Wall Street Journal, Interviews with Salon.com and Fresh Air

Whether they are stealing scenes on the silver screen or reppin' the 99% in Denver, CO, everyone can agree that dogs occupy a special place in the hearts and minds of humans the world over. But how much do we actually know about our four-legged friends? Dog expert Mark Derr, author of How the Dog Became the Dog (available now) has made a career out of exploring the dog/human relationship, debunking myths through scientific research and canine journalism. In recent essays and interviews with the Wall Street Journal, Salon, and NPR, Derr sheds light on the evolutionary history of man's best friend.

In the WSJ, Derr brings a fresh perspective to an ancient artifact: 26,000 year old paw prints left behind in the Chauvet Cave of southern France. "Attributing that paw print to a dog or even to a socialized wolf has been controversial since it was first proposed a decade ago. It would push back by some 12,000 years the oldest dog on record. More than that: Along with a cascade of other new scientific findings, it could totally rewrite the story of man and dog and what they mean to each other." Below, Derr discusses the latest scientific findings that challenge the consensus model of dog domestication with WSJ's Christina Tsuei.



In a recent interview with Salon.com's Emma Mustich, Derr delves into the co-evolutionary development shared between humans and dogs and reveals some unexpected similarities, from pack behavior to language. "I sometimes think dogs understand us better than we understand them. But the remarkable thing is that [dogs and humans] do understand each other to such a degree. We can understand a dog’s bark, and what his or her body language means, probably better in some cases than we can understand the behavior of other people."

Few understand how the relationship between animals and humans can have an effect on physical evolution, but on NPR's Fresh Air, Derr looks at this process through the lens of hunting game on the trail. "The wolf could say, 'These people are far more profligate hunters than we are. When they go out, they always leave a surplus. It's easier for us to take the scraps that they have than to hunt ... Hunting is a highly energetic activity. And they could learn from each other, just by observing each other." Listen to the full interview with Dave Davies below.



How the Dog Became the Dog combines the most recent genetic and archaeological research to create a unique insight into the joint history of humans and their closest animal companions. Derr sheds light on a question that may never be fully answered: Did humans shape the development of dogs, or did dogs create an environment that allowed human societies to flourish? For the latest from Mark Derr, be sure to check out his blog, Dog Bytes.

Praise for How the Dog Became the Dog

"Derr's affinity for canines comes through strongly, and the book appeals to dog lovers with a curiousity about the origins of their favorite companion." -Publisher's Weekly

"An essential read for dog lovers." -Booklist

"A transporting slice of dog/wolf thinking that will pique the interest of anyone with a dog in their orbit." -Kirkus

A glimpse into the life of Robert L. Forbes

Check out this fantastic article in the Wall Street Journal profiling Robert L. Forbes, author of our wonderfully whimsical children's book LET'S HAVE A BITE! A BANQUET OF BEASTLY FEASTS. It's always fun for us to read author profiles instead of traditional reviews--especially when they lead lives as interesting as this. Go here to read the full article, but here's an excerpt you might enjoy! You can also keep up-to-date on the life and times of Robert Forbes and events surrounding the publication of Let's Have a Bite! on Facebook and by following @robertlforbes on Twitter.

As happy and well adjusted an adult as Mr. Forbes seems on the surface, I can't help but believe his latest book, published this week, "Let's Have A Bite! A Banquet of Beastly Rhymes," with drawings by the New Yorker cartoonist Ronald Searle, isn't the result of night terrors.

"The Giant Panda at the zoo just sits and chomps on fresh bamboo," goes one poem. "His belly is like a cooking pot, Which happens when you eat a lot. He's content to do not much but chew. Which is all he seems to do (That and poo!)"

People often take a stab at children's books after reading "Goodnight Moon" to their own kids and becoming convinced they can do better. But Mr. Forbes hasn't read to his son Miguel in decades. Miguel is in his thirties. Miguel is Forbes's president of television and licensing.

It seems Mr. Forbes simply has crazy rhymes going through his head. He'll wake up in the middle of the night, don his special Edward Beiner reading glasses with built-in reading lights, write for a couple of hours, roll over and go back to sleep.

"I write to amuse me," he said. "I write stuff I'd like to read." Such as, apparently, "A chicken-stewing cat named Shauna slipped on her sweat in the sauna. She moaned on the floor, 'I must reach the door, Or I'll be a fricasseed goner.' "

Mr. Forbes said he contacted Mr. Searle, who lives in the south of France, and whose work he collects, out of the blue, fully prepared to be rejected, but figuring it couldn't hurt to ask. But Mr. Searle said yes. "I'll write a couple of lines about the poem," Mr. Forbes said of their collaborative process, "and a month or two later back this package comes with all these illustrations. It's like a little boy opening a Christmas present."

This is actually Mr. Forbes' second book of poems and critters. The first, "Beastly Feasts," also illustrated by Mr. Searle, was published in 2007. And Mr. Forbes shot the photography for "A Year of Dancing Dangerously," about his wife Lydia Raurell's successful quest to be crowned newcomer of the year on the pro-am ballroom dance circuit, though partnered with Brian Nelson, her professional dance partner.

Mr. Forbes divides his time between Manhattan, where he lives in Forbes Magazine worker housing, Palm Beach where his wife and Lamborghini reside, and the road, having just returned from dance competitions in Irvine, Calif., Las Vegas and Phoenix. "She's three to four hours a day practicing with a coach," he said of his wife. "She takes it very seriously."

However, she'll still condescend to dance with her husband. "Happily," he said, "she lets me lead."

And the poems keep coming. The drawings too. Last month the 90-year-old Mr. Searle delivered five more. "I've got at least two more books done by him," Mr. Forbes said. "I have no idea whether my publisher will do it—but I don't care."

Peter Quinn in the WSJ

The Wall Street Journal introduced its Greater New York section earlier this year, and we've enjoyed it greatly as a companion to our other classic New York papers--the Times, the Post, the Daily News. Our author Peter Quinn always seemed like a great fit for the section, and Steve Kurutz agreed, featuring Peter and his new book, The Man Who Never Returned, in his weekly Q&A with a New York personality.

Click here to go to the site and read the full article, but a few of our favorite questions and answers below!

The book does a wonderful job of evoking mid-1950s New York, with references to Wanamaker's department store and the Herald Tribune.

That's the city I grew up in. I'm old enough to have been on the Third Avenue El. That city is gone. Of course, that's part of the magic and pain of living in New York—it's always going away.

So are New Yorkers forced to be less sentimental?

New Yorkers are incredibly sentimental. They're never quite happy in the city that is. They want the city that was. When I was a kid, my parents talked about the city at the end of the war. Now people are saying it was such a great city in the '70s. It was so alive and creative. Yes, but the crime was also so bad that you couldn't ride the subways.

...

How did your years as a speechwriter for two governors and five Time Warner chairmen influence your fiction?

It helped me write for the ear. I went through two mergers at Time Warner. I got to observe human behavior in extremis. It's all in my books.

You retired as a speechwriter in 2007. Without a day job, have you become more productive as a novelist?

The day I retired I took my dog down to the train station to say goodbye to the people I rode the 6:18 train with. Since then I haven't got up at 5:30 once. I get done in 12 hours what I used to get done in two. It's hard to write all day, although James Patterson seems to be very productive. He sat behind me in English class at Manhattan College. I tell people, "Jim and I together have sold 150 million books, worldwide. James Patterson has sold 149,996,000. I sold the rest."

For more information on Peter Quinn, check out our archives here on the Winged Elephant or his website, which has gotten praise from reviewers and bloggers alike. And if you're looking for a smart, fun, and unpredictable thriller, check out The Man Who Never Returned and let us know what you think!

THERMOPYLAE in the WALL STREET JOURNAL

Paul Cartledge's THERMOPYLAE gets notice in The Wall Street Journal Weekend. All 300 Spartans must feel thrilled!