Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend
Susan Orlean
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.
Susan Orlean talks about Rin Tin Tin’s glorious career and the caring relationship between owner Lee Duncan and his beloved German Shepherd in Episode 70 of the Working Like Dogs show.