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Rin Tin Tin

the Life and the Legend
Nov 15, 2015dgl4024 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I enjoyed this book a lot. Having watched the Rin Tin Tin TV show when I was a kid, I was motivated to read this partly by those fond memories and the nostalgia of it all. There was a real dog named Rin Tin Tin long before Hollywood ever made a movie or a TV show about him. This book tells the story of Rin Tin Tin the dog and the story of Lee Duncan, his owner as well as many other people whose lives were affected by the dog and his story. Before reading this book I didn't realize how far back the story of Rin Tin Tin goes. Lee Duncan was in the US army during World War I and was in France. In 1918, during the last days of the war Lee was with his unit checking out the small French town of Fluiry after the Germans had left it. While in Fluiry Lee ran across a kennel where he found more than 20 dead dogs, killed from artillery shells. But as he was about to leave, he heard a whimper and in the farthest corner of the kennel, he found a female German shepherd with a litter of 5 puppies. He managed to gather all 6 of the dogs and drove back to his base. He ended up giving the mother and several of the puppies away to other soldiers. But he kept 2 of the puppies for himself, which he named Rin Tin Tin and Nanette. He chose these names from a popular good luck charm of that time: a pair of dolls made of yarn, one boy, one girl, which were named Rin Tin Tin and Nanette. Author Susan Orlean's story describes how Lee Duncan brought the dogs home to the US and how eventually he encountered Hollywood and got Rin Tin Tin into the movies. It was in these silent movies and eventually "talkies" that Rin Tin Tin became a Hollywood and global legend. Even though the original Rin Tin Tin died in 1932, his legend lived on in his offspring and others that Lee Duncan was involved with. What I found so remarkable about this story is how the legend of this dog, inspired and affected the lives of so many people, including the author. Worth reading for fans of Rin Tin Tin from decades ago but also for those who may not have ever known of the dog and his story.