Best in Show will be available in January for book reviews for print, radio, and media outlets. Also see Press Kit. Review inquiries should be directed to MaryAnn Frattarole at mfrattarole@bowtieinc.com or 949.855.8822 x 4700

Source: Hundsport, January 2008 (translated from Swedish)

Review of “Best in Show” HUNDSPORT 1-2/08, Swedish Kennel Club magazine
A Bible for All Dog Show Enthusiasts

Now it’s here — Bo Bengtson’s eagerly awaited giant work, the book for everyone who admits to an interest in dog shows. And this really is a treasure that nobody in the dog show world can be without, at least not if they want to maintain their credibility.

No, that’s not a joke — what Bo Bengtson has achieved is a book chock full of facts, data, charming anecdotes, poignant view points, and more than 700 (!) illustrations of the most wonderful show dogs from around the world over a period of five decades. This entire work — all of 4.5 pounds heavy, nearly 2 inches thick and with 656 large size pages (7,75 x 9.75 inches) bound within hard covers — is something which fact fanatics within the dog sport would hardly dare believe it’s possible to produce. The author must also be congratulated for having found a publisher who really gave the book the best possible professional layout and photo treatment one could have wished for.

While he lived in Stockholm, Bo Bengtson worked at Hundsport in the 1960s [and 1970s] and, among much else, initiated the precursor to the current Top Dog competitions. Since then he has been writing for the largest dog publications in Australia and the United States, and successfully published the leading American magazine Dogs in Review until he sold it a few years ago. Over the years he has written a number of well-received books about different breeds and dog shows; it’s almost superfluous to add that he is a world famous whippet breeder under the Bohem prefix, and also a knowledgeable and popular judge within several groups.

Since Bo has lived in the United States for several decades he is, to put it mildly, very familiar with the sport over there, and for that reason a lot of space has been devoted to the American dog scene. However, Best in Show will remain an inevitable topic of conversation among dog people for a long time to come regardless of where in the world they live. More than that: it will become a reference tool that’s as long-lived as it is indispensable. Here you will find all the information you could possibly want for dinner conversation with your dog friends. It’s a reference work without equal — and a source you may rely on.

When I started reading the chapters I kept thinking that this would have been my dream book when I was a dog-crazy teenager. Imagine getting this much information about your favorite hobby gathered within two covers! Everything those of us who were born in the 1940s wanted in our youth is served up for today’s juniors on a platter, all under the Best in Show name. The chapters start, of course, with how dog shows began in England in the mid-1800s. The illustrations and the accompanying text add an extra dimension to the sport, and artwork and drawings from that time help provide an image of the dog sport while it was still in its cradle.

The chapter about how the breed standards were born, and how they are regarded in different parts of the world, is really interesting, and the author has the ability to convey the fact that an understanding between different parts of the world is not completely self-evident. The comprehensive chapter about the world’s greatest dog shows, including their development, and particularly the most high profile shows in the land of the professional handlers, the United States, is of course ambrosia for the sports’ insiders. However, the increasingly important specialty shows for specific breed also are given their appropriate place. How about the concept of judging a hundred champions in one single class?

Like a thread throughout the book there are also lists of data. For instance, which breeds have the biggest entries at their specialty shows in what year — and not forgetting photographs from the different events. Of course (?) there is a chapter about judges. Yes, precisely that: the judges’ responsibility is addressed, as well as how and what the background should be for anyone who wants to become a good judge, and how it’s done. Here’s a torrent of gold nuggets for anyone who is serious about a future in dogs. There is even more to learn for anyone who wants to become a professional handler: a whole chapter about this demanding but quite fascinating pursuit, which in the United States is a serious occupation.

Of course neither of the two professions just mentioned would exist unless there are breeders who see to it that the rings are full of the best dogs they can produce. The premier breeders based on annual results are mentioned, of course, as well as noted stud dogs. But there is also pertinent information about what, for instance, happens to breeders who stray from the straight and narrow path. The sport of purebred dogs started in England, as already mentioned, so of course there is a chapter called “Best of Britain”, and “of course” records and photographs of all the top BIS winners are included. There is also a wonderful collection of photographs from the influential kennels and dogs of 1900s England. Following this comes the chapter about the leading winners in America and the breeds which were the most successful. There is also a chapter about the reasons why certain breeds win Best in Show often and others hardly ever — and the text is backed up by charts showing some surprising truths.

The chapters covering other countries (Scandinavian dogs, breeders and handlers are well represented) and the records of the top winners, as well as the exquisite illustrations, are nothing short of impressive. Detailed chapters about “How to be #1”, including a massive back-up of photographs of past winners, and the chapter “dog shows and the media” consist of a gallery of dog publications and photographers that have helped enlighten the sport and enlist new enthusiasts. The last hundred pages of the book are devoted to information about how dog shows are organized in different parts of the world, about rules for how to become a champion, and about how the various judging systems work — and sometimes collide.

The book also includes records about which breeds are recognized in different countries, which is not necessarily self-evident...

There are lists of America’s top dogs from 1925 through 2006, and of the top dogs in each group 1956-2006. There are also lists of the top dogs from around the world, the BIS winners at the world’s major shows, such as Westminster, Crufts, Stockholm and others. At the back of this giant work there is one index of names of all the dogs mentioned in the book and another which includes all the people. These indices constitute a major work in themselves and are invaluable in a reference work of this caliber.

This book is a “must” for every dog show enthusiast’s coffee table, office — and night table.

RENÉE WILLES