by Susan OrleanAtlantic Books - NZRRP: $36.99 paperback
NZ publication: 27 February 2012
From the bestselling author of The Orchid Thief comes a sweeping and powerfully moving account of Rin Tin Tin’s journey from orphaned puppy to movie star and international icon.
From the moment in 1918 when Corporal Lee Duncan discovers Rin Tin Tin on a World War I battlefield, he recognises something in the pup that he needs to share with the world. ‘He believed the dog was immortal…’ Susan Orlean begins in this book, almost ten years in the making, her first original book since The Orchid Thief.
Rin Tin Tin’s improbable introduction to Hollywood leads to the dog’s first blockbuster film, and over time the many radio programs, movies, and television shows that follow. The canine hero’s legacy is cemented by Duncan and a small group of others who devote their lives to keeping him and his descendants alive.
At its heart, Rin Tin Tin is a poignant exploration of the enduring bond between humans and animals. But it is also a richly textured history of twentieth-century entertainment and entrepreneurship and the changing role of dogs in the American family and society. It is a tour de force of history, human interest, and masterful storytelling – the ultimate must-read for anyone who loves great dogs or great yarns.
About the author
Susan Orlean has been a staff writer for the New Yorker since 1992 and has also written for Esquire, Vogue and Rolling Stone. She is the author of five books including the international bestseller The Orchid Thief, the inspiration for the film Adaptation, directed by Spike Jonze and starring Nicholas Cage and Meryl Streep. Susan Orlean lives in Boston.
She will be talking to Kim Hill on Radio NZ this coming Saturday morning.
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