WOW what a wonderful book about a wonderful man.... | Dog Man: An Uncommon Life on a Faraway Mountain |...

I read this book standing up at the public library. | Dog Man: An Uncommon Life on a Faraway Mountain | Martha Sherrill

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	• Dog Man: An Uncommon Life on a Faraway Mountain Martha Sherrill Penguin Press HC, The, 2008 - 256 pages average customer review:based on 14 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Exceptional Reading

This book has touched me. The main character is morally strong, and the result of his strength has affected a breed of dog to a point beyond comprehension. If you own an Akita, this is a must read. If you do not own an Akita, you need to read this as well.

WOW what a wonderful book about a wonderful man....

Haven't had a dog in years but love great books about dogs and this is a great book about a dog and the man who rescued the breed from extinction.

And what a gentle man he is. Brings the word Zen to life for me. And to think he never accepted money for any of the dogs, and has lived such a simple pure life. Not only is it a story of a man saving a breed of dog, but it also has some priceless lessons about living simple, enjoying stillness and being content.

I wonder if the Japanese exchange students we have had over the years who all owned Akitas know of Morie Sawataishi.

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I read this book standing up at the public library.

I had to leave it at the library because i wanted to leave it for my friend who i intended to send right down to check it out. It's about an eccentric in a culture not known for eccentrics. It's about his wife and family. His wife is a stoic and her relationship with her husband is like reading science fiction to a 21st century American. The dogs are great. Great. Please do not go out and buy an Akita though. This is a lot of dog. A whole lot of dog. They almost need a mountain.

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Dogs, history, humanity

I bought this book for my brother, who loves dogs as much as I do. When he finished it, he sent it back, so I read it as well, and we both enjoyed it. This is a very sweet book which makes a great gift book for someone who loves dogs, someone who loves Japan and its history, and especially for someone who loves both. I would have liked to see Penguin go the extra mile for Martha Sherrill and spring for glossy pages for the many great photos in the book, but that would be my only criticism.

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Interesting Tale about Saving Akitas

Heard about this book when Charlie Rose interviewed the author on his show. Apparently the Akita is a country dog bred in the mountains in Japan. During WWII, the breed was threatened--people ate them because they were starving--and this is the story of how one man formed a network of friends to save the breed and protect them. It is also the story of his family, including stories of the different dogs he saved. For dog lovers and Akita fans especially.

How one man's consuming passion for dogs saved a legendary breed from extinction and led him to a difficult, more soulful way of life in the wilds of Japan's remote snow country As Dog Man opens, Martha Sherrill brings us to a world that Americans know very little about-the snow country of Japan during World War II. In a mountain village, we meet Morie Sawataishi, a fierce individualist who has chosen to break the law by keeping an Akita dog hidden in a shed on his property. During the war, the magnificent and intensely loyal Japanese hunting dogs are donated to help the war effort, eaten, or used to make fur vests for the military. By the time of the Japanese surrender in 1945, there are only sixteen Akitas left in the country. The survival of the breed becomes Morie's passion and life, almost a spiritual calling. Devoted to the dogs, Morie is forever changed. His life becomes radically unconventional-almost preposterous-in ultra-ambitious, conformist Japan. For the dogs, Morie passes up promotions, bigger houses, and prestigious engineering jobs in Tokyo. Instead, he raises a family with his young wife, Kitako-a sheltered urban sophisticate-in Japan's remote and forbidding snow country. Their village is isolated, but interesting characters are always dropping by-dog buddies, in-laws from Tokyo, and a barefoot hunter who lives in the wild. Due in part to Morie's perseverance and passion, the Akita breed strengthens and becomes wildly popular, sometimes selling for millions of yen. Yet Morie won't sell his spectacular dogs. He only likes to give them away. Morie and Kitako remain in the snow country today, living in the traditional Japanese cottage they designed together more than thirty years ago-with tatami mats, an overhanging roof, a deep bathtub, and no central heat. At ninety-four years old, Morie still raises and trains the Akita dogs that have come to symbolize his life. In beautiful prose that is a joy to read, Martha Sherrill opens up the world of the Dog Man and his wife, providing a profound look at what it is to be an individualist in a culture that reveres conformity-and what it means to live life in one's own way, while expertly revealing Japan and Japanese culture as we've never seen it before.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

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