Pit Bull: The Battle over an American Icon
{{Short description|2016 book}}
{{infobox book |
| name = Pit Bull: The Battle over an American Icon
| image = Pit Bull The Battle over an American Icon.jpg| caption =
| author = Bronwen Dickey
| illustrator =
| cover_artist =
| country = United States
| language = English
| genre = Science & Nature
| publisher = Knopf{{cite web|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-307-96176-1|title=Nonfiction Book Review: Pit Bull: The Battle Over an American Icon by Bronwen Dickey. Knopf, $26.95 (336p) ISBN 978-0-307-96176-1|website=Publishersweekly.com|accessdate=10 July 2018}}
| pub_date = {{ubl | 10 May 2016 }}
| media_type = Print (hardback and paperback)
| pages = 336
| isbn = 9780307961761
| oclc =
| congress =
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
}}
Pit Bull: The Battle over an American Icon by Bronwen Dickey is a book about the history of pit bulls in the United States.
Content
The book examines the mixed sentiment towards the pit bull breed by the American public and how the media has affected that perception. Dickey spent seven years researching the topic and interviewed hundreds of people ranging from animal behaviorists to trainers.{{cite web|url=https://splinternews.com/the-racist-story-behind-the-pit-bull-s-fall-from-americ-1793857029|title=The racist story behind the pit bull's fall from American icon to demon dog|first=Daniel|last=Rivero|website=Splinternews.com|date=26 May 2016 |accessdate=10 July 2018}}{{cite web|url=http://www.atlantamagazine.com/news-culture-articles/fear-loathing-mythology-pit-bull-bronwen-dickey/|title=Fear, loathing, and the mythology of the pit bull: Bronwen Dickey on America's most divisive dog - Atlanta Magazine|date=16 May 2016|website=Atlantamagazine.com|accessdate=10 July 2018}}
Reception
The book received a mostly positive reception from critics.{{cite web|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/bronwen-dickey/pit-bull-battle/|title=PIT BULL by Bronwen Dickey - Kirkus Reviews|website=Kirkusreviews.com|accessdate=10 July 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://manhattanbookreview.com/product/pit-bull-the-battle-over-an-american-icon/|title=Pit Bull: The Battle over an American Icon - Manhattan Book Review|website=Manhattanbookreview.com|accessdate=10 July 2018}}
The Wall Street Journal said that "Ms. Dickey has earned her reputation as a first-rate reporter.”{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/breeding-contempt-1464373739|title=Breeding Contempt|first=Pat|last=Shipman|newspaper=Wall Street Journal |date=27 May 2016|publisher=|accessdate=5 September 2018|via=www.wsj.com|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220708143249/https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/breeding-contempt-1464373739 |archive-date=8 July 2022}} {{subscription required}} The New York Times stated that "Dickey not only writes about the ebb and flow of public fear and loathing, she takes the reader on a thoroughly comprehensible tour of genetics and behavioral science to explain why breeding never guarantees an individual dog's personality, and shouldn't be used to condemn it."{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/31/science/review-pit-bull-by-bronwen-dickey.html|title=Review: 'Pit Bull' Traces Path From Fighter to Pet to Demon|work=The New York Times |date=27 May 2016 |accessdate=10 July 2018 |last1=Gorman |first1=James |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160718034700/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/31/science/review-pit-bull-by-bronwen-dickey.html |archive-date=2016-07-18 }} {{subscription required}}
The Christian Science Monitor called it “brilliant" and "a powerful and disturbing book that shows how the rise of the killer-pit bull narrative reflects many broader American anxieties and pathologies surrounding race, class, and poverty."{{cite web|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Book-Reviews/2016/0517/Pit-Bull-aims-to-tell-the-story-of-a-maligned-breed|title='Pit Bull' aims to tell the story of a maligned breed|date=17 May 2016|accessdate=10 July 2018|publisher=Christian Science Monitor}}
Anti-pit bull advocates accused Dickey of downplaying the potential danger of pit bull dogs.{{cite web|url=https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/josh-shaffer/article82711652.html|title=Pit bull author's critics are off the leash – Shaffer|website=Newsobserver.com|accessdate=10 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610111630/https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/josh-shaffer/article82711652.html |archive-date=10 June 2016}} {{subscription required}} She also received death threats at book signings.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2016/06/28/an-author-says-she-hoped-to-advance-the-debate-about-pit-bulls-instead-she-became-a-target/|title=An author says she hoped to advance the debate about pit bulls. Instead, she became a target|newspaper=Washington Post|accessdate=10 July 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://indyweek.com/culture/art/pit-bulls-may-may-dangerous-bronwen-dickey-can-attest-writing-definitely-is/|title=Pit Bulls May or May Not Be Dangerous. But Bronwen Dickey Can Attest That Writing About Them Definitely Is.|first=David|last=Klein|website=Indyweek.com|date=20 July 2016 |accessdate=10 July 2018}}