How to Order
You can buy it here. If you’d like an autographed copy, for yourself or as a gift, go through checkout AND send me an email; I’ll sign it and send it promptly. The cost, post-paid, is $20. “Willing dogs & Reluctant Masters is the first fully intelligent, dog savvy, systematic examination of the human dog connection since Vicki Hearne’s Adam’s Task. For owners and dogs alike, it is an important book. As a bonus, it’s great fun. I can’t recall the last time I read a dog book twice. ”
“Because his reflections on dogs become a parallel reflection on human life, Borjesson deserves comparison to Xenophon, the Greek philosopher who first seriously explored canine nature...Borjesson shows how our friendship with dogs can illumine higher pursuits, from marriage to politics to philosophy.”
“This book is a delight to read and a profit to ponder. It is a dog story, a human story, a lesson book (for dog owners), and a philosophical meditation (for anyone). It is learned, but lightly so, and it has a powerful thesis gently imparted. I loved it, but my credentials for reviewing it are even better than that: I don’t like dogs. ”
About the Book
Willing Dogs & Reluctant Masters: On Friendship and Dogs was published in 2012 by Paul Dry Books.
Reviews
Professor Diana Schaub, “Dog’s Best Friend” in The New Atlantis (Winter/Spring 2013). An in-depth review, including a great overview of the book’s themes.
Eva Brann, “The Rehabilitation of Spiritedness” in The St. John’s Review (Spring 2013). You can also read it here.
“Can We Be Friends? Spirit, Duty, & Our Canine Companions” in The Imaginative Conservative.
Dawn Marcus, M.D. “Willing Dogs & Reluctant Masters Book Review“, in Fit As Fido (November 2012).
Diana Schaub’s review of my book gets a post, “Can We Really Be Friends with Dogs?” (Nov. 3rd, 2013) on Andrew Sullivan’s blog, The Dish.
* Excerpt of a note to the author, from acclaimed author Donald McCaig. Used with permission.
Selected Conversations and Interviews
You can listen to my lively half-hour conversation about the book with Dr. Bernadine Cruz, on her radio show The Pet Doctor.
A longer and more in-depth discussion with KMO, interviewer and host of the wide-ranging C-Realm podcast (the “C” stands for consciousness). KMO entitled it “Embracing Your Own Authority”, which aptly reflects the heart of our conversation.
Lecture
In February 2014, I was invited to give a lecture at St. John’s College in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The lecture—”Spirited Friends: on dogs and friendship”—focuses on themes related to my book, and is just under an hour long. You can listen to it on Youtube.