Bob Son of Battle

5 out of 5

By Bookshare.org Volunteer on Jan 11, 2009

A dog story that's far more than a dog story, "Bob, Son of Battle" tells the tale of a conflict between a good man, James Moore, and a bad man, Adam M'Adam, and their sheep dogs, Bob and Red Wull, respectively. The setting is the Yorkshire Fells, in the north of England. The action centers around the championship sheep-herding trials of Britain, but the trials are not the point of the story. The point is that there is good in even the worst of men (and dogs), and also, as illustrated by the old Irish proverb, "Only the man that wears the shoe knows how it pinches." A story of the "Outsider" in society and of how intolerant people tend to be toward things they don't understand, "Bob, Son of Battle" is also a story of the healing power of love. A dog story like no other, "Bob, son of Battle" is well worth reading, even if you don't like dogs. If you do have an interest in dogs, especially the sheepdog breeds, it's fascinating. I first read this book twenty years ago, and am still trying to figure out exactly what breed or type of dog Red Wull is (Bob is an old-fashioned collie type, the precursor to both the modern show collie and the border collie). The only drawback for a modern reader might be the archaic English language, written in time(the late nineteenth century)and place. I personally found this to be an asset, but I suspect it might be annoying to some. All in all, a remarkable story, suitable for both children and adults.