A YEAR WITH THE BORDER RATTERS. By Bill Doherty.

2017 1st edition. 8vo (176 x 246mm). Ppvi,235. Colour photographs throughout. Pictorial laminated boards, issued without a dust-wrapper.

Very well illustrated with many good colour photographs. This book "covers a year travelling with the Border Ratters, a team of terrier lads based in Northumberland and Durham. Firstly, this is NOT a how to book, everyone on here knows how to kill a rat, and it would be insulting telling anyone, how to do it. What the book is; a written and pictorial documentation of some of the highlights of the year that is written about. How is it different to all the other ratting with terrier books available? Well, the main focus is on the images in the book. Among them are probably some of the best rat hunting with terrier that has ever been seen in print. There are chapters on various breeds of terriers we took out during the year, including; Bedlingtons, Borders, JRT, Plummers, Patterdale and Lakeys, a working Westie and various crosses from some of these breeds. Each of these breeds has a chapter devoted to 'how it went' and images of each breed. There are chapters on; action shots, close ups, daylight work, lads and dogs in the throws hunting rats, etc etc etc. There is a chapter on 'how we got the images', what camera used, which lenses, settings etc for anyone interested in having a go. There is information on the breeds, some history of the individual dogs used and the guys that traveled with us, some of them from as far away as Wales. These are some stories of some of the nights and days out, with accurate detail, and some humour." Chapters include: Bedlingtons and their crosses; On the Borders; The rough and smooth of the JRT; Lakeland and Patterdale; Call a Plummer; The WHWT; A day in the pens; Stables and chicken sheds; What a difference a day makes; Action, take one; Close encounters of the ratting kind; Smile, you're on candid camera; At the end of the night; So how did we get them?; Revelations.