Excellent book; well illustrated throughout. Disappointingly slim volume for the price, and I could have done with even more text. It would also have been nice to get an index... but those little moans seem unfair in the light of how authoritative and interesting this book is.Danny Gilmour promotes responsible ownership; he doesn't give the breed *the hard sell*, which would be irresponsible - and he doesn't gloss over the fact the Staffie demands a LOT of training and hard work on the part of the owner.
Especially good are the early chapters on the breed's history, with lovely illustrations I for one hadn't seen elsewhere. Mr Gilmour's personal quest to track down the apparently extinct Staffie ancestor, the Blue Paul, is wonderful reading.
The book is well written; in a lively, readable style. The author has years of experience, and I came away feeling it was a real privilege to share some of this. That said, the scope of it is not encyclopaedic (It doesn't pretend to be). It is a good addition to your Staffie library but not the ONLY book you will ever need. It is not overly technical or show dog orientated, and Mr Gilmour won my heart when he wrote: "Every breeder aspires to produce a show quality litter, but this should never become more important than rearing sound dogs of good temprement..." Hear, hear!
