The Best Dog in the World: Essays on Love - Edited by Alice Hoffman - ★★★★.¼

EDITOR: Alice Hoffman

GENRE: Essay Collection

PUBLICATION DATE: March 10, 2026

RATING: 4.25 stars.

In a Nutshell: A collection of essays by various authors about some best dogs in the world. Given the reputation of the contributing authors, it’s not surprising that this is one well-written collection. A love letter to dogs and a must-read for all dog owners and dog lovers.

At times, the cover of a book is such that you are tempted to grab it without doing any other due diligence. Look at the cover art of this book! Just see that unbridled bliss on that beautiful dog’s visage! Add to this, that amazing title! How is one to resist?!

Thankfully, the book delivers exactly as the cover and the title promise, not making me regret my impulsive decision for even a second.

I don’t often read essay collections, but if the theme of the essays is close to my heart, then I am willing to try the book. This book contains fourteen essays celebrating the joys and challenges of their canine companions. Impossible to resist this concept as a dog lover!

The list of contributing authors reads like a who’s who of successful contemporary writers: Jodi Picoult, Isabel Allende, Emily Henry, Amy Tan, Nick Trout, Roxane Gay, Bonnie Garmus, and many more. To top it all, this collection has been edited by none other than Alice Hoffman. We are practically guaranteed quality writing!

The blurb states that these contributions "captures the full range of the canine-human connection, from the joy of welcoming a new puppy to the heartache of saying goodbye to a beloved friend." This line captures the essence of the book perfectly. Each essay focuses on dogs, but the experience isn't always the same. Some focus on the challenges of training a puppy, some highlight the difficulties of earning trust from a rescue dog, some ponder over whether they actually are ‘dog people’, and some mull over the grief of losing a beloved pet. Many essays are bittersweet, containing both happy and sad memories in equal measure. But despite some obvious grief, the dominant tone in the book is that of joy and love.

With fourteen contributing authors, plus the editor’s foreword focusing on her own dogs, we get fifteen honest and mostly touching write-ups celebrating the authors’ bond with dogs. Obviously, all the essays aren't at the same level of quality, but all are about dogs and all are heartfelt. Most of the writeups are from pet parents, but one essay that stands apart in this regard is by author Nick Trout, penning his experience as a veterinary surgeon with a brave dog named Maverick.

I usually rate each story/writeup in anthologies and collections and then average my ratings. But there’s no way I can rate these essays individually when there is so much sincerity and warmth in them. I do want to mention some special favourites:

🐶 The essay that made me cry: Emily Henry and her ‘Dottie’.

🐶 The essay that made me chortle and sniffle in equal measure: Bonnie Garmus and her ‘99’.

🐶 The essay that highlighted how the same rearing can still produce different dogs: Jodi Picoult and her ‘Alvin‘.

🐶 The essay that showed the contradiction of being a non-dog-person and still wanting canine affection: Roxane Gay and her ‘Max’.

🐶 The essay that demonstrated the efforts it takes in becoming a true pet parent: Ann Leary and her ‘Eddie’

🐶 The essay that proved how a new and reluctant pet parent can also be won over by a loyal dog: Paul Yoon and his ‘Oscar’

Most of the other essays also ranged from good to great. The only disappointing entry was the essay by Amy Tan, as she spoke of her Yorkshire Terrier and his top-ranking performance as a show dog and later a quality sire. I'm not a fan of such shows, but more than that, I didn't like the tone of the essay. It seemed to come entirely from a position of pride in his success rather than from the close personal bond she might have had with him.

Each essay is preceded by a little B&W illustration of the exact dog breed owned by that specific author. While I liked this idea, I wish the book had contained actual photos of the authors with their beloved pets. It would have been so great to picture the exact dog we come to love from the writeup.

You know how people get baby fever from looking at baby photos and videos? Well, this book will create doggie fever! In these days when the world is going crazy, such books help remind us of the goodness still around in humans and their canine family members.

I’ll wind up by saying: For the love of Dog, get this book!

My thanks to Scribner for providing the DRC of “The Best Dog in the World” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.