Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend

Description

He believed the dog was immortal.

So begins Susan Orleans sweeping, powerfully moving account of Rin Tin Tins journey from orphaned puppy to movie star and international icon. Orlean, a staff writer at The New Yorker who has been hailed as a national treasure by The Washington Post, spent nearly ten years researching and reporting her most captivating book to date: the story of a dog who was born in 1918 and never died.

It begins on a battlefield in France during World War I, when a young American soldier, Lee Duncan, discovered a newborn German shepherd in the ruins of a bombed-out dog kennel. To Duncan, who came of age in an orphanage, the dogs survival was a miracle. He saw something in Rin Tin Tin that he felt compelled to share with the world. Duncan brought Rinty home to California, where the dogs athleticism and acting ability drew the attention of Warner Bros. Over the next ten years, Rinty starred in twenty-three blockbuster silent films that saved the studio from bankruptcy and made him the most famous dog in the world. At the height of his popularity, Rin Tin Tin was Hollywoods number one box office star.

During the decades that followed, Rinty and his descendants rose and fell with the times, making a tumultuous journey from silent films to talkies, from black-and-white to color, from radio programs to one of the most popular television shows of the baby boom era, The Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin. The canine heros legacy was cemented by Duncan and a small group of othersincluding Bert Leonard, the producer of the TV series, and Daphne Hereford, the owner of the current Rin Tin Tinwho have dedicated their lives to making sure the dogs legend will never die.

At its core, Rin Tin Tin is a poignant exploration of the enduring bond between humans and animals. It is also a richly textured history of twentieth-century entertainment and entrepreneurship. It spans ninety years and explores everything from the shift in status of dogs from working farmhands to beloved family members, from the birth of obedience training to the evolution of dog breeding, from the rise of Hollywood to the past and present of dogs in war. Filled with humor and heart and moments that will move you to tears, Susan Orleans first original book since The Orchid Thief is an irresistible blend of history, human interest, and masterful storytellinga dazzling celebration of a great American dog by one of our most gifted writers.