Hersch Wilson's Dog Lessons: Learning the Important Stuff from Our Best Friends is part homespun meditation on what dogs teach humans and part memoir. Wilson writes movingly about 60 years of living with a total of 18 canines and the enlightenment inspired by these beloved companions. Wilson (Firefighter Zen), a Minnesota native, opens with an apology: "The second-largest religion in Minnesota, south of Lutheranism, is self-deprecation," he claims. Thus, quotes from esteemed writers precede each chapter and support his philosophies. "To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring--it was peace," wrote Milan Kundera.
Wilson includes family memories in this "unabashed love letter to dogs," beginning with the memory of his mother taking him to pick out a German shepherd puppy at age 10 and the recent introduction of the family dogs to his newborn grandchild. His anecdotes and philosophies can meander like a dog following a scent: "be amazed at the complexity of cognition," he advises, making a comparison to dogs enthusiastically burying their snouts on walks. He also recommends, because canines are polyphasic, napping multiple times a day: "when the moment offers itself, NAP! Take a lesson from your dog." People don't "own" dogs, he stresses, but are their "guardians"; he notes that Ukrainian war refugees have taken their pets when evacuating. Dog Lessons is a carefully annotated work that is often funny and always loving. It is both an homage to nature in all forms and a gentle cautionary tale: while navigating the bridge of life, Wilson writes, "[c]ross it with a dog." --Cheryl McKeon, Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza, Albany, N.Y.