First Published: 1998
First published in Great Britain by Little, Brown and Company in 1998
Published by Warner Books in 1999
Published by Time Warner Paperbacks in 2002
Reprinted 2002, 2003
FIRST EDITION
Hardcover : 152 pages
ISBN-10 : 0316645923
ISBN-13 : 978-0316645928
Size : 15.49 x 2.03 x 21.59 cm
Publisher : Little Brown & Company, London; 1st edition 1998
Paperback : 176 pages
ISBN-10 : 0751533319
ISBN-13 : 978-0751533316
Product Dimensions : 12.8cm x 19.6cm approx.
Kindle Edition
File Size : 801 KB
Publisher : Sphere; New Ed Edition (6 July 2017)
ASIN : B071H71C14
Audiobook: ASIN - B002SQ8LT6
Book Description:
"When Buster the cross-bred Staffordshire Bull Terrier was attacked by a goose belonging to the Queen, his resulting act of self-defence (from which the bird never recovered) was so widely misreported in the press
that Buster became an instant celebrity.
One court appearance and a £75 fine later, Roy Hattersley and his companion were consigned to the criminal ranks. But that was not the end of the matter, as journalists pursued the pair through the parks of London. Determined to put his side of the story forward, Buster decided at last to put paw to paper and his Diaries, as told to Roy Hattersley are the result.
From his lowly beginnings as a street pup and rescue dog, Buster charts his heady rise to the sophistication of SW1. Hotels, living with The Man and mealtimes that She dictates are only a few of the obstacles Buster has to negotiate. But negotiate them he does and despite momentary lapses in his 24-hour memory, the three learn to live together as a family. Light-hearted and humorous in tone, Buster's Diaries was never meant to be a serious treatment of animal psychology; yet it does offer the odd thoughtful comment on a British society which often seems to revolve around dog ownership and the tabloid press. A good wind-down book, this story offers you a leisurely stroll towards the happy ending where Buster finally adjusts to the rigours of owning The Man. It should certainly succeed in its aim to convince everyone that "there's more to life than chasing postmen".
--Lucie Naylor "
Extract from Introduction
“My brother and I were born in the overgrown back garden of a house in Paddington sometime during February 1995. When we were a few days old, our mother was bitten by a rat and the man who owned her tied her to a fence post and left her to die. For nearly a week, she survived on water which was leaking from a hose pipe and she fed us till she died. Then Diana, the lady who lived next door, rescued us. Being too young and stupid to recognise kindness, after a couple of weeks we ran away and started to live rough. It was the beginning of my fascination with refuse. Even now, with two square meals a day and more biscuits than are good for me, I find black bags and waste bins irresistible.
We had been vagrants for more than two months, when Doris Turner saw us running about on Paddington Recreation Ground. Doris ran the Brent Animal Shelter and decided at once that she must find us a good home. Even then, for reasons I can't explain, I longed for human company. So, when Doris called to us, I let her catch me. My brother, being still stupid, ran away again. It was the last time I saw him. Doris said he was my identical twin. Somewhere in North London, there is another dog who looks just like me - the handsome profile of a small Alsatian and the elegant brown and gold flecked coat of a Staffordshire Bull Terrier.”
About the Author:
Roy Hattersley was elected to Parliament in 1964. He served in Harold Wilson's government and in Jim Callaghan's Cabinet. In 1983 he became deputy leader of the Labour Party. As well as contributing to a host of national newspapers, he has written nineteen books, including the much acclaimed Who Goes Home?; Fifty Years On; John Wesley: A Brandfrom the Burning; The Edwardians; Borrowed Time: The Story of Britain Between the Wars and In Search of England. Roy Hattersley has been Visiting Fellow of Harvard's Institute of Politics and of Nuffield College, Oxford. In 2003 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
