"If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog," Harry Truman once said. Perhaps that's why, for much of our Republic's history, there have been two top dogs at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue-one with two legs, one with four. "First Dogs," by distinguished journalist Roy Rowan and researcher Brooke Janis, tells the whole doggone story, from the days before there was a White House to Barack Obama's newly adopted presidential pup, Bo. Here's a lighthearted romp through American history, packed with drawings and paintings from early America, plus photographs, starting with Abraham Lincoln's Fido. Not only did these four-footed goodwill ambassadors humanize their distinguished masters, they offered them a little unconditional love in a loveless town. "First Dogs" gives dog lovers and history lovers a new angle on presidential history and is more fun than you can shake a stick (or rubber bone) at.

From Washington's foxhound to Clinton's Labrador--and every imaginable breed in between--the presidential pooches have faithfully stood by their masters through good times and bad, successfully endearing themselves to millions of people along the way. In First Dogs: American Presidents and Their Best Friends, Roy Rowan (correspondent for Life, Time, and Fortune) and photojournalist Brooke Janis take an entertaining look at presidential history from a dog's point of view. Highlighting the "four-footed goodwill ambassadors" who have, over the years, not only humanized their distinguished masters, but also played political roles--both in gaining votes and boosting their bosses' popularity--this "lighthearted romp through American history" introduces such memorable characters as FDR's Scottie, Fala, who attended the signing of the Atlantic Charter aboard the cruiser Augusta; Millie, Bush's springer spaniel, who dictated her own bestselling memoir; and Lincoln's mongrel, Fido, who sadly suffered the same fate as his master.