The Pit Bull Life: A Dog Lover’s Companion, by Deirdre Franklin and Linda Lombardi. This charming, giftable book is a complete guide to owning and loving a pit bull, as well as a colorful, photo-filled celebration of the breed. Although pit bulls were once seen as an iconic American dog and a symbol of strength and loyalty, the breed’s image has suffered since. Today, common misconceptions and breed-banning laws can pose a challenge to the pit bull owner.

Author Deirdre Franklin is the founder of the advocacy and rescue group Pinups for Pitbulls, Inc. Linda Lombardi is a pet expert and writer on animal issues of all kinds. 

About Bronwen Dickey’s book, ‘Pit Bull: The Battle over an American Icon.’

“When Bronwen Dickey brought her new dog home, she saw no traces of the infamous viciousness in her affectionate pit bull. Which made her wonder: How had the breed—beloved by Teddy Roosevelt and Helen Keller—come to be known as a brutal fighter? Dickey’s search for answers takes her from nineteenth-century New York dogfighting pits to early twentieth‑century movie sets, from the battlefields of Gettysburg to struggling urban neighborhoods. In this illuminating story of how a popular breed became demonized–and what role humans have played in the transformation–Dickey offers us an insightful view of Americans’ relationship with their dogs.”