Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend - Softcover

"He believed the dog was immortal." So begins Susan Orlean's sweeping, powerfully moving account of Rin Tin Tin's journey from abandoned puppy to movie star and international icon. Spanning almost one hundred years of history, from the dog's improbable discovery on a battlefield in 1918 to his tumultuous rise through Hollywood and beyond, Rin Tin Tin is a love story about "the mutual devotion between one man and one dog" ("The Wall Street Journal") that is also a quintessentially American story of reinvention, a captivating exploration of our spiritual bond with animals, and a stirring meditation on mortality and immortality.

"Epic . . . Heartfelt . . . An enormously satisfying story about a dog and the man who believed in him."--Carol Memmott "USA Today "

"Fascinating . . . Sweeping . . . Expertly told . . . [Orlean] 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 "The New York Times Book Review "

"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."--Kenneth Turan "Los Angeles Times "

"Brilliant . . . If there were any book she was born to write, it's this one. The product of years of dogged research, it's her magnum opus, a work filled with fascinating stories . . . [and] stunning prose that is both compassionate and perceptive."--Michael Schaub "NPR "

"Engrossing . . . Delightful . . . Orlean finds much more to the story than a man and his dog . . . . Its heart lies in her exploration of how a dog could come to embody the ideal of heroic devotion and, eventually, exist as an icon outside the boundaries of time."--Douglass K. Daniel "The Associated Press "

"Heartening . . . It's a story that may surprise you. . . . Rin Tin Tin embodied the spirit of America."--Rita Braver "CBS Sunday Morning "

"Rapturous . . . This dog's eye history of Hollywood in the 1920s is exuberant and told with as much energy as love. . . . It is to be numbered among the best Hollywood biographies."--David Thomson "The New Republic "

"Fascinating . . . Orlean's deadpan sense of humor and ear for the odd and beguiling fact make it hard to put down the book. But there's also something haunting about it, a sense of the brevity of life and fame. . . . Orlean's writing is built to last. As individual as a fingerprint, or a face, it turns what could have been a footnote to history into a touching account of the way one life resonates with others."--Margaret Quamme "The Columbus Dispatch "

"It is a book that is best read in solitude, or at least in the company of someone who won't be annoyed when you speak up every few moments to share some fascinating fact that Orlean has uncovered, which she does on nearly every page."--Robert Philpot "Fort Worth Star-Telegram "

"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 Steve Jobs "