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Table of Contents
About The Book
A New York Times bestseller and People “Book of the Week”: This hilarious, charming road trip through canine-loving America is “essential reading for dog lovers and armchair travelers” (Library Journal, starred review).
“I don’t think my dog likes me very much,” New York Times Magazine writer Benoit Denizet-Lewis confesses at the beginning of his cross-country journey with his nine-year-old Labrador-mix, Casey. Over the next four months, thirty-two states, and 13,000 miles in a rented motor home, Denizet-Lewis and his lovable, moody canine companion try—with humorous and touching results—to pay tribute to the most powerful interspecies bond there is, in the country with the highest rate of dog ownership in the world.
On the way, Denizet-Lewis—“a master at effortlessly weaving bits of research into his narrative” (Los Angeles Times)—meets an irresistible cast of dogs and their dog-obsessed humans. Denizet-Lewis and Casey hang out with wolf-dogs in Appalachia, enter a dock-jumping competition in Florida, meet homeless teens and their dogs in Washington, sleep in a Beagle-shaped bed and breakfast in Idaho, and visit “Dog Whisperer” Cesar Millan in California. And then there are the really out there characters: pet psychics, dog-wielding hitchhikers, and two women who took their neighbor to court for allegedly failing to pick up her dog’s poop.
Denizet-Lewis’s memoir “is a lot like Casey…fun, sweet, and a little neurotic” (Chicago Tribune)—a delightfully idiosyncratic blend of memoir and travelogue coupled with a sociological exploration of a dog-obsessed America. Travels With Casey is “a thoroughly engaging and often hilarious investigation of the therapeutic nature of our relationships with dogs” (Booklist).
“I don’t think my dog likes me very much,” New York Times Magazine writer Benoit Denizet-Lewis confesses at the beginning of his cross-country journey with his nine-year-old Labrador-mix, Casey. Over the next four months, thirty-two states, and 13,000 miles in a rented motor home, Denizet-Lewis and his lovable, moody canine companion try—with humorous and touching results—to pay tribute to the most powerful interspecies bond there is, in the country with the highest rate of dog ownership in the world.
On the way, Denizet-Lewis—“a master at effortlessly weaving bits of research into his narrative” (Los Angeles Times)—meets an irresistible cast of dogs and their dog-obsessed humans. Denizet-Lewis and Casey hang out with wolf-dogs in Appalachia, enter a dock-jumping competition in Florida, meet homeless teens and their dogs in Washington, sleep in a Beagle-shaped bed and breakfast in Idaho, and visit “Dog Whisperer” Cesar Millan in California. And then there are the really out there characters: pet psychics, dog-wielding hitchhikers, and two women who took their neighbor to court for allegedly failing to pick up her dog’s poop.
Denizet-Lewis’s memoir “is a lot like Casey…fun, sweet, and a little neurotic” (Chicago Tribune)—a delightfully idiosyncratic blend of memoir and travelogue coupled with a sociological exploration of a dog-obsessed America. Travels With Casey is “a thoroughly engaging and often hilarious investigation of the therapeutic nature of our relationships with dogs” (Booklist).
About The Author
Photograph (c) Amanda Jones
Benoit Denizet-Lewis is a writer with The New York Times Magazine and an assistant professor of writing and publishing at Emerson College. He is the author of Travels With Casey, America Anonymous: Eight Addicts in Search of a Life, and has contributed to Sports Illustrated, The New Republic, Details, Slate, Salon, Out, and many others. Denizet-Lewis lives in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Follow him @BenoitDLewis.
Product Details
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster (July 22, 2014)
- Length: 352 pages
- ISBN13: 9781439153567
Raves and Reviews
“As an entertaining, somewhat whimsical glimpse into life with dogs in the 21st century, [Travels with Casey] covers a tremendous amount of ground, literally and figuratively. . . . Denizet-Lewis is warm, often hilarious company."
– Bronwen Dickey, The New York Times Book Review
“Travels with Casey is a charming, touching, human and humane book. The author’s self-deprecating humor, his keen eye for the truth of the people he encounters, his respect for those who live in what too many others might call ‘fly-over country,’ and his affection for dogs make this a unique book.”
– Dean Koontz, author of The City: A Novel and A Big Little Life: A Memoir of a Joyful Dog
"Book of the Week: The abundance of fun facts makes [Denizet-Lewis's] journey well worth sharing."
– People
"Book pick of 'The Culture.'"
– Time
"Denizet-Lewis is a master at effortlessly weaving bits of research into his narrative. . . . An intentionally intellectual, geographically expansive analysis of dog culture."
– Ken Foster, The Los Angeles Times
“I couldn’t stop reading Travels with Casey until I had to walk the dog. It’s an adventure story, a love story, and a brilliant commentary on dog literature from J.R. Ackerley to Cesar Millan. Everyone who has a dog will love this book.”
– Susan Cheever, author of E.E. Cummings: A Life
“Dog people will fall in love with Travels with Casey. . . . Even if you are indifferent to dogs, you will be charmed by this book.”
– Amanda St. Amand, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“Benoit Denizet-Lewis has written about some pretty strange and fascinating people in his career, but no group is more entertaining than Dog People. Benoit captures this group with warmth and wit in Travels With Casey. Sit! Read! Enjoy!”
– A.J. Jacobs, New York Times bestselling author of The Year of Living Biblically
“Dog lovers will be entranced by Benoit Denizet-Lewis’ Travels with Casey, but so will everyone, because it’s a book about all of us and a book about America. His observations are funny and poignant and the writing is exquisite.”
– David Sheff, author of Beautiful Boy and Clean
“Casey takes his place alongside Charley and Tulip and Skip as Denizet-Lewis takes his alongside John Steinbeck and J.R. Ackerley and Willie Morris. Travels with Casey is a book for dog lovers that reaffirms why we love them so. And it is a book for misanthropes that will restore their faith in humanity.”
– Kevin Sessums, author of Mississippi Sissy
Resources and Downloads
High Resolution Images
- Book Cover Image (jpg): Travels With Casey eBook 9781439153567
- Author Photo (jpg): Benoit Denizet-Lewis Photograph (c) Amanda Jones(0.1 MB)
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