“Nobody will ever love you like a dog. Nobody will ever be as consistently happy to see you. Nobody will ever make you so glad to be alive.”

It all started when nine-year-old Jasmine wanted a dog and her parents, Tony and Yuriko, tried to fob her off with a rabbit. In the end, along came Stan, a bandy-legged bundle of joy, loyalty and bright red fur. And nothing like a rabbit. Set against the backdrop of Tony’s life in Hampstead and their daily walks across the Heath, with its rolling hills, ponds and cast of star-studded, dog-walking neighbours – this is a poignant, funny and deeply human memoir about a special relationship with a four-legged friend.

Full of Tony’s reliably moving, wise and heartfelt writing, Man & Dog: A Love Story captures the ineffable bond between a man and his dog.

Tony Parsons is an award-winning journalist and a bestselling novelist. His books have been published in over forty languages and his multimillion-selling debut Man & Boy won the Book of the Year prize in 2000. His first job in journalism was as a staff writer on the NME and for the last thirty years, he has been one of the most widely-read columnists in Fleet Street. Last year Tony wrote about the loss of his beloved dog Stan in The Sun on Sunday, a column that went viral and inspired his memoir Man & Dog: A Love Story.

© 2025 Tony Parsons (P) 2025 DK Audio