True Story Book Club: Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend by Susan Orlean
Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend by Susan Orlean
Allegedly found in the ruins of a bombed-out dog kennel in France during World War I, then brought to Los Angeles by
Lee Duncan, the soldier who found and trained him, by 1927 Rin Tin Tin had become Hollywood's number one box-office
star. Susan Orlean's book--about the dog and the legend--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.