In War Dogs, Rebecca Frankel offers a riveting mix of on-the-ground reporting, her own hands-on experiences in the military working dog world, and a look at the science of dogs' special abilities—from their amazing noses and powerful jaws to their enormous sensitivity to the emotions of their human companions. The history of dogs in the U.S. military is long and rich, from the spirit-lifting mascots of the Civil War to the dogs who lead patrols hunting for IEDs today.
Frankel interviewed not only handlers who deployed with dogs in wars from Vietnam to Iraq but also top military commanders, K-9 program managers, combat-trained therapists who brought dogs into war zones as part of a preemptive measure to stave off PTSD, and veterinary technicians stationed in Bagram. She makes a passionate case for maintaining a robust war-dog force. In a post-9/11 world rife with terrorist threats, nothing is more effective than a bomb-sniffing dog and his handler. With a compelling cast of humans and animals, this moving book is a must-listen for all dog lovers—military and otherwise.
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"Military aficionados as well as dog lovers will learn from and enjoy from this study of canine commandos and the service people who count on them."
— Publishers Weekly
Rebecca Frankel is senior editor, special projects at Foreign Policy Magazine. Her regular Friday column, Rebecca’s War Dog of the Week, has been featured on The Best Defense since January 2010. Her photo essay “War Dog,” is one of the most-viewed pieces in ForeignPolicy.com’s history and has received upwards of sixteen million views and over 100,000 likes on Facebook. She has appeared as a commentator on ABC World News with Diane Sawyer and MSNBC among others. In 2011, she was named one of twelve women in foreign policy to follow on Twitter by the Daily Muse.
Tanya Eby is a novelist and an audiobook narrator who has earned several AudioFile Earphones Awards and been nominated for the Audie Award. She has a BA degree in English language and literature and an MFA in creative writing from the University of Southern Maine.