No Better Friend (Young Readers Edition): A Man, a Dog, and Their Incredible True Story of Friendship and Survival in World War II

(Paperback)

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Description

No Better Friend tells the remarkable story of Royal Air Force technician Frank Williams and Judy, a purebred pointer, who met in an internment camp during WWII. Judy was a fiercely loyal animal who sensed danger and instinctively mistrusted anyone in enemy uniform.

Their relationship deepened throughout their imprisonment. The prisoners suffered severe beatings which Judy would interrupt with her barking. The dog became a beacon for the men, who saw in her survival a flicker of hope for their own.

Judy was the war's only canine POW, and when she passed away in 1950, she was buried in her Air Force jacket. Williams would never own another dog. Their story--of an unbreakable bond forged in the worst circumstances--is one of the great undiscovered sagas of World War II.

Reviews

Praise for No Better Friend:
"No Better Friend personifies the relationship we all aspire to have with our dogs, and takes us on a harrowing journey to a place and time lost in the history books. A must read for every dog or animal lover."--Robin Hutton, author of Sgt. Reckless: America's War Horse
Praise for No Better Friend: Young Readers Edition: "A riveting and highly moving dog story."--Kirkus Reviews
"An enormously readable account of animal and human companionship and survival; recommended for budding historians and fans of survival stories."
--School Library Journal
"Exceptionally well researched and engaging... No Better Friend is an inspiring story, and one that both dog lovers and history buffs will embrace."--Deborah Hopkinson, BookPage
"Robert Weintraub captures the beauty and power of friendship and loyalty between man and animal in this captivating narrative. We'd all be lucky to have a dog like Judy by our sides in our darkest times."
--Cate Lineberry, author of The Secret Rescue: An Untold Story of American Nurses and Medics Behind Nazi Lines
"The most inspiring true life account I've ever read of a human-animal bond."--Maureen Corrigan, NPR
"This is the best dog book since the uber best-selling Marley and Me."--Linda Wilson Fuoco, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Weintraub... combines a gritty war story with a warm dog story -- readers who like both will think they have gone to heaven.... Where he truly excels, though, is in finding the human dramas, some painful and some inspiring, that figured in Judy's saga."--Kate Tuttle, Boston Globe
"Well-written and engaging."
--Booklist

Author Bio

Robert Weintraub is a frequent contributor to the New York Times and Slate and the author of the acclaimed books The House That Ruth Built, The Victory Season, and No Better Friend.