Jerrold Mundis (1941–2020)

¿Qué pasa cuando un perro deja de ser el mejor amigo del hombre? En un centro experimental donde tratan de elevar al máximo el potencial natural del perro, se ha extraviado un cachorro. Un profesor sensible lo encuentra y adopta. A los pocos meses el magnífico pastor alemán se transforma en una extraña criatura con reacciones casi humanas. El perro huye al bosque, retorna a los orígenes y se convierte en el líder de una jauría que lucha por la supervivencia… El terror y la tragedia se desencadenan.… (mais)

https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3080793.html

I saw the Oscar-winning film when I was a teenager, and was somewhat confused by it, knowing a bit about the Vietnam war but much less about the blue-collar culture which turns out to be the main theme of the story. It's a very effective film, in sound and vision, and some of it has lingered with me for three decades. It will be some time before I reach it in my current viewing sequence, however. The novelisation is a poor substitute, reminiscent of the least energetic Doctor Who novelisations; it feels like a direct transcription from the screenplay, with very limited authorial insight into the thinking or experiences of the characters. I guess that back in the ancient days of the late 1970s, before there were easily available video tapes, this was the most accessible way for fans of the film to re-experience it.… (mais)

There are more recent versions of this book available and I suggest the reader find one. The premise of the book is two-fold. First, no matter how desperate one feels, you are not your debt and you are just as entitled to your life as your debtors are to their money. The second part is where the datedness of the work is a problem. The author suggests making a budget and paying only what you can afford, while stopping debt increase (which he calls debting) entirely. However, his examples use interest rates that are quite low. It seems likely that anyone with a serious debt problem in 2014 may find it difficult to afford the monthly interest charges, much less make headway on their debt. Its age also gives it a level of quaintness, such as debit cards being available only to a privileged few.

The principles are sound, though a bit in dissonance with my new guru Dave Ramsey (who advocates a fast, hard push at knocking out debt rather than doing it at a comfortable pace). I would be interested to see how the book's recommendations are changed in later versions.… (mais)