Author:  Kim Gordon

 Illustrator:  Jillian Slater

 Publisher:  PublishAmerica

ISBN:  1-4137-4992-5

The following review was contributed by: Jennifer Brown & Click Here To View Jennifer Brown's Reviews

Okay, Ladies.  How many of you have stolen a glance at your man, scratching himself on the couch and thought, Now there’s a Bulldog if I’ve ever seen one?  How does your man’s bite stand up to his bark?  Does your fella hand you his leash with a puppy-eyed grin or does he sprint for the hills every time the front door is opened a crack?  Just what breed is he anyway?

Kim Gordon can give you the answers you’ve been looking for.  Author of WOOF-MAN: A Woman’s Guide to Her Man’s Inner Canine, Gordon offers a wide selection of man/dog breeds and their dominant characteristics.  This compilation makes for a humorous look into the truth behind the saying, “all men are dogs.” 

Gordon, a Peoria, Illinois author and freelance editor, received her BA degree in Psychology from Southern Illinois University.  WOOF-MAN is her second book, her first being an award-winning fantasy novel.

Gordon takes the reader on a lively journey through the history of the dog, claiming, “…it was fully documented throughout the pages of history that the very first animal ever to be domesticated was not the cute and cuddly bunny rabbit, or the charming yet bashful deer, or the utilitarian and hardworking cow.  …No, the first animal to be tamed was the wild and unpredictable wolf.” (p. 12) 

Then Gordon dives into a thorough and extensive listing of the characteristics of twenty-three breeds, and, of course, the Mutt.  Written like any dog-selection manual, each breed in WOOF-MAN is divided into four sections:  “How to Recognize…,” “Is His Bark Worse Than His Bite?,” “Effective Training Methods,” and “Expected Life Span.”

Within those sections, a reader can expect to find comparisons drawn between man and dog on the more obvious and dominant traits within each breed.  The Doberman, for example, “…comes sniffing around,…definitely looking for something.  …the casual mention of how broke he is (he wants money), how misunderstood he is (he wants sex), or how no one makes minestrone soup or ham hocks and beans like his mother (he wants you to take care of him)” (p. 76)  

Sprinkled throughout the book are Jillian Slater’s clever illustrations of each man/dog discussed.  A reader will happen upon pictures of a Chihuahua in suspenders and bow tie, for example, or a police uniform-clad German Shepherd. 

WOOF-MAN is heavy on groaner dog-puns and occasionally loses sight of whether it is a book for female humans or female dogs.  Written as a dog-selection manual hints that it’s the human variety that’s expected to be reading the book; however, it is definitely slanted toward what type of female dog will work best with each breed and how she can temper his more annoying traits.  In fact, each breed has suggested breeds to which he is best matched.  The book would have been best served if kept specifically geared toward human women selecting their best man/dog breed, and drop all allusions to female dog breeds.  After all, the saying isn’t “all women are dogs, too.” 

WOOF-MAN is a great light read, good for a few laughs with virtually irresistible page-turner quality.  Every woman has known a relentless Dachshund or pined after a perfectly good Mutt that got away.  Made for bridal shower gifting or passing around the office on a slow workday, WOOF-MAN is a pleasure to read.