Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Audiobook for the holidays - part 3: Rin Tin Tin by Susan Orlean (and a giveaway!)

Today we continue our series 'Audiobook for the holidays', where we review, recommend and give away 4 great audiobooks. In the last weeks we introduced you to Boomerang by Michael Lewis and Our Choice by Al Gore. Today we're excited to introduce you to an audiobook that might seems to be a tale about a dog, but is actually "an extraordinary journey" into the story of some of the most interesting parts of the twentieth century . And what a fascinating journey it is!

Our second audiobook on this series is:

Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend
by Susan Orlean, narrated by the author.

The audiobook is published by Simon & Schuster Audio. Here's an excerpt from the audiobook read by the author, Susan Orlean:



Here's more about "Rin Tin Tin":

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.”

Here's another interesting video clip, where author Susan Orlean talks about the audiobook and why she chose to narrate her book:


The audiobook is available on Amazon: http://amzn.to/oPSvFS and on iTunes: http://bit.ly/t7uZBP

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!

We're giving away two copies of this audiobook, courtesy of the publisher, Simon & Simon audio!

How you can win? Very simple. All you have to do is to retweet this post on twitter with the hashtag #rintintin at the end of your tweet. We will have a raffle on Wednesday, December 28, 5:00PM EST between all the readers that will retweet by then. The winners will be announced the following day.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!