The World According to Bob: The Further Adventures of One Man and His Streetwise Cat

Written by James Bowen

Narrated by Kristopher Milnes

Cat lovers around the world embraced the New York Times bestselling heartwarming true story of James Bowen and A Street Cat Named Bob. Now, the busker and his feline friend are back in The World According to Bob: The Further Adventures of One Man and His Streetwise Cat—a touching and true sequel about one man and the cat that changed his life.

As James struggles to adjust to his transformation from street musician to international celebrity, Bob is at his side, providing moments of intelligence, bravery, and humor and opening his human friend's eyes to important truths about friendship, loyalty, trust--and the meaning of happiness.

In the continuing tale of their life together, James shows the many ways in which Bob has been his protector and guardian angel through times of illness, hardship, even life-threatening danger. As they high-five together for their crowds of admirers, James knows that the tricks he's taught Bob are nothing compared to the lessons he's learnt from his street-wise cat.

Readers who fell in love with Dewey and Marley will be eager for this gift book presenting the next chapters in the life of James and Bob.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: May 27, 2014
• ISBN: 9781490618630

James Bowen

James Bowen is the author of the bestselling A Street Cat Named Bob and The World According to Bob. He found Bob the cat in 2007 and the pair were inseparable until Bob's death in June 2020. He lives in London.

Reviews for The World According to Bob

[sriemann_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Was at the library taking back the first book about Bob, and lo and behold, on the new books shelf there is another book about Bob. Much like the first, although I didn't enjoy reading about James' hospital visit [blood stuff and I don't always do well].

[akblanchard_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I don't typically read sequels, but I enjoyed James Bowen's first book, A Street Cat Named Bob so much that I couldn't wait for the second, The World According to Bob to come out. When it finally did, I devoured it in two days.The second book is a lot like the first, but I found a certain added poignancy in The World According to Bob. In the first book, Bowen was a man who had nothing, and therefore, as Bob Dylan famously sung, had nothing to lose. In the second book, Bowen realizes the extent to which he and Bob depend on each other. When outside forces threaten to tear them apart, as happens a few times in the narrative, I felt Bowen's anxiety along with him. Fortunately, this uplifting book, like its predecessor, ends happily.Highly recommended for all Bob fans!

[dream24-2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received an ARC through Goodreads.
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Before I read this book I didn't know about Bob the cat. But now that I have read this book, I want to know more and follow Bob and James' stories and adventures throughout London.

Bob certainly is an interesting cat. I love reading Bob and James' adventures and stories about daily life on the streets of London.

It's truly inspirational how Bob inspired James to become a much better person and the friendship between them is so pure and loving. There is never any doubt that animals are intelligent and are our friend and companion.

This was a very easy and interesting read. You are quickly tugged into their world and try as you might you are eager to find out whats next that you won't want to put the book down.

Overall, a good read.

[thecrow2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The continuing adventures of two lost souls in London. Although a bit lacks the freshness of the previous book still an inspirational and uplifting read about how a man saved a cat's life and how that ginger cat saved his... Highly recommended!

[Daniella Speziale · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A beautiful story. Together with A street cat named Bob, it gives insight, not only on a wonderful cat, but on the life of a remarkable young man and his journey through homelessness and drugs into the life he aimed for, aided and supported by his great friend, Bob.

[Meg Rice · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I so enjoyed learning what happened next in the lives of this lovable duo❣️

[wassilissa · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Auch in diesem Buch geht es darum, wie der Kater Bob das Leben von James verändert. Das Buch deckt die Zeit zwischen dem ersten Teil und der Veröffentlichung des Buches ab. Es werden viele Episoden erzählt, die verdeutlichen wie James lebt, welche Schwierigkeiten er hat und wie auch vermeintlich ganz normale Dinge (Arztbesuch) extrem schwierig für ihn sind. Bob ist eine so große Unterstützung, dass man sich unweigerlich fragt, wie es für James weitergehen wird, wenn Bob einmal nicht mehr da sein wird. Ich finde das Buch sehr authentisch. Der Ghostwriter trifft die Stimme, die Probleme und Hoffnungen James´ wirklich gut. So wird auch für „Normalsterbliche“ deutlich, wie es den Menschen geht, die Straßenmusik machen und die Straßenzeitung verkaufen. Und die Geschichte selbst ist natürlich einfach ein Wunder.

[March Delgado · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Second part of the stories of Bob and his "Human Friend," which begins two years after they met. I had a smile on my face in the first pages that I still have while writing this review.
This cat is the most wonderful in the world (please, I hope my cat doesn't take it the wrong way), just what James needed to get out of the rut he was in. If anyone doubts that the dogs and cats that accompany us at some point in our lives are like little guardian angels, they just have to read this book to be fully convinced.
It's an easy read; I finished it in a day. Just like the previous one, it is written in the first person from the perspective of the writer, James. The characters are the same, and the plot is similar to that of the first part. But it didn't feel repetitive at all, as it focuses more on the shared life of this strange couple; it even seemed to me to be more polished prose, so it deserves half a star more.
I love the anecdotes! It allowed me to suffer on someone else's skin the problems of homeless people, even peeking into the harsh life of a drug addict. I could see both the good and bad sides of humans, that part that makes cats go fuuuu and bristle their fur.
Totally recommended, no doubt. (Translated from Spanish)

[Niebla2009 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

James and his street cat have embarked on an extraordinary journey together. James, with Bob's help, has begun to find his way back to the real world. Almost daily, Bob gifts him with moments of intelligence, courage, and humor, while helping open his human friend's eyes to fundamental truths such as friendship, loyalty, and trust, and above all, to the meaning of happiness.

In this continuation of the story of their lives together, James shows the different ways in which Bob has been his protector and guardian angel during times of illness, hardship, and even dangers that put their lives at risk. And when they bump their hands and paw together to the delight of their court of admirers, James knows that the tricks he has taught Bob cannot compare to the lessons he has learned from his clever street cat.

This is the official synopsis.

We are now looking at the second part of A Street Cat Named Bob. Five years have passed since James Bowen met Bob, when he found the lost cat on the stairs of his apartment block in Tottenham, a neighborhood in London.

It seems to be the true story of James Bowen, a former drug addict, who had been homeless for three years and was still in the recovery program when he met Bob.

James, to comply with the recovery program, worked as a street musician on a designated London street, adhering strictly to a schedule, regardless of the cold, wind, or snow. What he collected was enough to pay the rent for the dilapidated public housing where he lived, and occasionally there was enough left over to buy something to eat.

According to James himself, “I had no plans to keep him. I thought he was a street cat. But after three weeks, I tried to let him go. I let him outside, but he wouldn’t leave. He followed me down the road. One day he followed me onto bus number 73 and got on after me.”

It is then that James decides to bring the cat "to work" with him, meaning the cat accompanied him on the street while he played. And it is when he realizes that with the cat by his side, his earnings began to increase to triple the usual amounts.

James becomes so fond of Bob that one day when he gets injured, he takes him to the Animal Protection Society and spends 35 euros on antibiotics, when he was making 31 euros a day at that time. “It was roughly the money I had, but I felt like I had to help him; I have always loved cats,” James Bowen explained.

Once Bob is healed, the duo continues to perform in their usual spot until one day a literary agent, who had seen Bowen with his cat in a magazine about homeless people, approaches him and asks if he would like to tell his story. Upon agreeing, they got to work, and in less than six months, the book was ready and became a bestseller.

In this second part, we will see the new adventures of the clever street cat and his friend, discovering new aspects and anecdotes from James and Bob's life. Like when James suffers from a thrombosis in his leg, and how the love and loyalty of his four-legged red-haired friend help him recover.

We also find episodes that again showcase the harshness of the London streets and how homeless people face numerous obstacles and barriers daily to get by; but most importantly, we will witness how Bob earns the affection of the city's residents to the extent that London newspapers begin to take an interest in the story of James and Bob.

In summary, we have a simple, well-written narrative that is one of those books you want to read in one go. It tries to give us hope, faith, but also speaks of overcoming challenges—a story that, in times of crisis like the ones we live in, is very uplifting and just as exciting as the first story, possibly making us shed a tear or two despite what I mentioned earlier. (Translated from Spanish)