About the Book
Nearly ten years in the making and perfect for the holidays, Susan Orlean's first original book since the celebrated bestseller The Orchid Thief is the publishing event of the season: a sweeping, surprising, and powerfully moving work of narrative nonfiction about the dog actor and international icon, Rin Tin Tin. German shepherd Rin Tin Tin's journey is the story of the twentieth century. From the discovery of Rin Tin Tin on a WWI battlefield in 1918, to the movies, radio programs, and the 1950s television show that would cement his legacy around the world, Rin Tin Tin traces the extraordinary history of the dog and his descendants over more than ninety years. Rin Tin Tin was a star (he received 10,000 fan letters a week); a worldwide sensation; a social figure (as the U.S. Army's WWII mascot, he inspired thousands of Americans to donate their dogs for use in the war); and a baby-boom touchstone. He was also a real dog, and the book tells the epic love story between Rin Tin Tin and the remarkable people who devoted their lives to him and his legacy.
Rin Tin Tin is also Orlean's meditation on the nature of heroism, loyalty, and memory, and how Rin Tin Tin has lasted for so many generations. "Rin Tin Tin could leap twelve feet," she writes, "and he could leap through time."
Like no one else, Orlean crafts brilliantly engaging, witty, and passionate narratives about her real-life characters. As The Washington Post Book World has said, her "snapshot-vivid, pitch-perfect prose...is fast becoming one of our national treasures." A tour de force of history, emotion, and masterful storytelling, here is the ultimate tale for anyone who loves great dogs or great journalism.
Review :
"Dazzling . . . Susan Orlean has fashioned a masterpiece of reporting and storytelling, some of it quite personal and all of it compelling. Animal-related books have always peppered best-seller lists--Seabiscuit comes quickly to mind--and this one will top such lists. It deserves to, and also to work its way into millions of hearts and minds. . . . [Carl] Sandburg called Rin Tin Tin 'thrillingly intelligent' and 'phenomenal.' The same can be said for this remarkable book. . . . Spectacular." --"Chicago Tribune"
"Deeply moving . . . An unforgettable book about the mutual devotion between one man and one dog." --Scott Eyman, "The Wall Street Journal"
"Epic . . . Heartfelt . . . An enormously satisfying story about a dog and the man who believed in him." --Carol Memmott, "USA Today"
"Fascinating . . . The sweeping story of the soulful German shepherd who was born on the battlefields of World War I, immigrated to America, conquered Hollywood, struggled in the transition to the talkies, helped mobilize thousands of dog volunteers against Hitler and himself emerged victorious as the perfect family-friendly icon of cold war gunslinging, thanks to the new medium of television. . . . Do dogs deserve biographies? In "Rin Tin Tin" Susan Orlean answers that question resoundingly in the affirmative . . . By the end of this expertly told tale, she may persuade even the most hardened skeptic that Rin Tin Tin belongs on Mount Rushmore with George Washington and Teddy Roosevelt, or at least somewhere nearby with John Wayne and Seabiscuit." --Jennifer Schuessler, front cover of "The New York Times Book Review"
"It's a story of magnificent obsession. Nearly a decade in the making, combining worldwide research with personal connection, it offers the kind of satisfactions you only get when an impeccable writer gets hold of one heck of a story. . . . Deft . . . Insightful . . . Fascinating." --Kenneth Turan, "Los Angeles Times "
"Remarkable . . . Orlean's pursuit of detail is mind-boggling. . . . The book is less about a dog than the prototypes he embodied and the people who surrounded him. It is about story-making itself, about devotion, luck and heroes. . . . Ultimately, the reader is left well nourished and in awe of both Orlean's reportorial devotion and at her magpie ability to find the tiniest sparkling detail." --Alexandra Horowitz, "San Francisco Chronicle"
"Stunning . . . A book so moving it melted the heart of at least this one dogged Lassie lover . . . Don't let the book's title fool you. Calling" Rin Tin Tin" the story of a dog is like calling "Moby-Dick" the story of a whale. Orlean surfs the tide of time, pushing off in the 1900s and landing in the now, delivering a witty synopsis of nearly a century of Rin Tin Tins and American popular culture. The result is a truly exceptional book that marries historical journalism, memoir, and the technique of character-driven, psychologically astute, finely crafted fiction: a whole far greater than the sum of its parts." --Meredith Maran, "The Boston Globe"
"Susan Orlean has written a book about how an orphaned dog became part of millions of households, and hearts, in a way that may reveal the changing bonds between humans and animals, too. . . . One of the many pleasures of this book is the historical breadth of the story." --Scott Simon, NPR's "Weekend Edition"
"A must-read book that is both an excellent piece of cultural history and a remarkable story of the animal-human bond." --"The Christian Science Monitor"
"An improbably fascinating tale of one of the first canine celebrities, the times that catapulted him to fame, and the legacy that endures." --"People" magazine's "Great Fall Reads"
"I adored this book. It""weaves history, war, show business, humanity, wit, and grace into an incredible story about America, the human-animal bond, and the countless ways we would be lost without dogs by our sides, on our screens, and in our books. This is the story Susan Orlean was born to tell--it's filled with amazing characters, reporting, and writing." --Rebecca Skloot, author of "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks"""
"Magnificent." --"Vanity Fair"
"Orlean relates the histories of the original Rin Tin Tin and his various successors with her customary eye for captivating detail." --"Entertainment Weekly"
"Susan Orlean has fashioned a masterpiece of reporting and storytelling, some of it quite personal and all of it compelling. Animal-related books have always peppered best-seller lists--"Seabiscuit" comes quickly to mind--and this one will top such lists. It deserves to, and also to work its way into millions of hearts and minds. . . . [Carl] Sandburg called Rin Tin Tin 'thrillingly intelligent' and 'phenomenal.' The same can be said for this remarkable book." --"Chicago Tribune"
"Move over Seabiscuit, Rin Tin Tin will be the most-talked-about animal hero of the year and beyond. . . A spectacularly compelling portrait . . . Engrossing, dynamic, and affecting." --"Booklist" (starred review)
"[Orlean] combines all her skills and passions in this astonishing story . . . A terrific dog's tale that will make readers sit up and beg for more." --"Kirkus Reviews" (starred review)
"Not only does Susan Orlean give us a fascinating and big-hearted account of all the many incarnations of Rin Tin Tin, she shows us the ever-changing role of American dogs in times of war and peace. This book is for anyone who has ever had a dog or loved a dog or watched a dog on television or thought their dog could be a movie star. In short--everyone." --Ann Patchett, author of "State of Wonder" and "Bel Canto"
"Rin Tin Tin was more than a dog. He embodied the core paradoxes of the American ideal: He was a loner who was also a faithful companion, a brave fighter who was also vulnerable. I was astonished to learn from this delightful book that he has existed for eleven generations over a century. By chronicling his amazing ups and downs, Susan Orlean has produced a hugely entertaining and unforgettable reading experience." --Walter Isaacson, author of "Benjamin Franklin "and "Einstein"
"Stirring . . . A tale of passion and dedication overcoming adversity. . . . Even readers coming to Rin Tin Tin for the first time will find it difficult to refrain from joining Duncan in his hope that Rin Tin Tin's legacy will 'go on forever.'" --"Publishers Weekly"
