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On Animals (Paperback)
Susan Orlean
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R470
R386
Discovery Miles 3 860
Save R84 (18%)
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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Rin Tin Tin was born on a battlefield in France towards the end of
WW1. He died in 1932, supposedly in the arms of Jean Harlow, the
original 'blonde bombshell', epic in death as he was in life. In
his prime, he was one of Hollywood's the biggest stars. He received
two thousand fan letters a month, had jewels, furs and a private
driver, had his paw-print set for posterity on Hollywood Boulevard
and was credited with saving Warner Brothers from bankruptcy -
twice. His owner, Lee Duncan, was so completely devoted to him that
when his wife sued for divorce she cited Rin Tin Tin as
co-respondent. Rin Tin Tin's story is a great yarn with a big heart
and, in Susan Orlean's hands, it is also very funny. But at its
core lies a profound and moving meditation on the idea of heroism:
of what it means to dream of a figure who is brave and bold and
strong, and why those ideals hold such power over our imagination.
This book is set to become an eccentric classic.
"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.
'Every essay in this book is magnificent... Mesmerizing.' New York
Times 'How we interact with animals has preoccupied philosophers,
poets, and naturalists for ages,' writes Susan Orlean. Since the
age of six, when Orlean wrote and illustrated a book called Herbert
the Near-Sighted Pigeon, she's been drawn to stories about how we
live with animals, and how they abide by us. Now, in On Animals,
she examines animal-human relationships through the compelling
tales she has written over the course of her celebrated career.
These stories consider a range of creatures - the household pets we
dote on, the animals we raise to end up as meat on our plates, the
creatures who could eat us for dinner, the various tamed and
untamed animals we share our planet with who are central to human
life. In her own backyard, Orlean discovers the delights of keeping
chickens. In a different backyard, in New Jersey, she meets a woman
who has twenty-three pet tigers - something none of her neighbours
knew about until one of the tigers escapes. In Iceland, the world's
most famous whale resists the efforts to set him free; in Morocco,
the world's hardest-working donkeys find respite at a special
clinic. We meet a show dog and a lost dog and a pigeon who knows
exactly how to get home. Equal parts delightful and profound,
enriched by Orlean's stylish prose and precise research, these
stories celebrate the meaningful cross-species connections that
grace our collective existence.
A New York Times Book of the Year, 2018 A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO
SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB PICK A dazzling love letter to a beloved
institution - our libraries. After moving to Los Angeles, Susan
Orlean became fascinated by a mysterious local crime that has gone
unsolved since it was carried out on the morning of 29 April 1986:
who set fire to the Los Angeles Public Library, ultimately
destroying more than 400,000 books, and perhaps even more
perplexing, why? With her characteristic humour, insight and
compassion, Orlean uses this terrible event as a lens through which
to tell the story of all libraries - their history, their meaning
and their uncertain future as they adapt and redefine themselves in
a digital world. Filled with heart, passion and extraordinary
characters, The Library Book discusses the larger, crucial role
that libraries play in our lives.
Since its founding in 2011, The Atavist Magazine has garnered an
unprecedented eight National Magazine Award nominations and was the
first all-digital publication to win in feature writing. This
collection presents the finest examples of a new kind of
non-fiction storytelling. The collection includes Leslie Jamison's
landmark portrait of a lonely whale named "52 Blue", Matthew
Shaer's harrowing account of a shipwreck during Hurricane Sandy,
and James Verini's prize-winning tale of romance and courage in
Afghanistan. The fascinating and original writing in Love and Ruin
demonstrates why The Atavist has become the leader in publishing
"remarkable... can't look away pieces of multimedia journalism"
(The New York Times).
From the moment in 1918 when Corporal Lee Duncan discovers Rin Tin
Tin on a World War I battlefield, he recognizes something in the
pup that he needs to share with the world. Rin Tin Tin's improbable
introduction to Hollywood leads to the dog's first blockbuster film
and over time, the many radio programs, movies, and television
shows that follow. The canine hero's legacy is cemented by Duncan
and a small group of others who devote their lives to keeping him
and his descendants alive. At its heart, Rin Tin Tin is a poignant
exploration of the enduring bond between humans and animals. But it
is also a richly textured history of twentieth-century
entertainment and entrepreneurship and the changing role of dogs in
the American family and society. Almost ten years in the making,
Susan Orlean's first original book since The Orchid Thief is a tour
de force of history, human interest, and masterful storytelling -
the ultimate must-read for anyone who loves great dogs or great
yarns.
The Fakahatchee Strand, Florida, once a vast swamp awash with indiginous orchids, was plundered during the orchid boom of the 1890s. Its remaining plants, now fiercely protected by law, still attract the unwelcome attentions of thieves. John Laroche is one such self-confessed and convicted thief. Intrigued by newspaper reports of his trial, Susan Orlean followed Laroche on an enthralling exploration into the eccentric world of the obsessive orchid collectors; a subculture of aristocrats, enthusiasts and smugglers whose passion for plants is all-consuming.
'Every essay in this book is magnificent... Mesmerizing.' New York
Times 'How we interact with animals has preoccupied philosophers,
poets, and naturalists for ages,' writes Susan Orlean. Since the
age of six, when Orlean wrote and illustrated a book called Herbert
the Near-Sighted Pigeon, she's been drawn to stories about how we
live with animals, and how they abide by us. Now, in On Animals,
she examines animal-human relationships through the compelling
tales she has written over the course of her celebrated career.
These stories consider a range of creatures - the household pets we
dote on, the animals we raise to end up as meat on our plates, the
creatures who could eat us for dinner, the various tamed and
untamed animals we share our planet with who are central to human
life. In her own backyard, Orlean discovers the delights of keeping
chickens. In a different backyard, in New Jersey, she meets a woman
who has twenty-three pet tigers - something none of her neighbours
knew about until one of the tigers escapes. In Iceland, the world's
most famous whale resists the efforts to set him free; in Morocco,
the world's hardest-working donkeys find respite at a special
clinic. We meet a show dog and a lost dog and a pigeon who knows
exactly how to get home. Equal parts delightful and profound,
enriched by Orlean's stylish prose and precise research, these
stories celebrate the meaningful cross-species connections that
grace our collective existence.
In Susan Orlean's mesmerizing true story of beauty and obsession is John Laroche, a renegade plant dealer and sharply handsome guy, in spite of the fact that he is missing his front teeth and has the posture of al dente spaghetti. In 1994, Laroche and three Seminole Indians were arrested with rare orchids they had stolen from a wild swamp in south Florida that is filled with some of the world's most extraordinary plants and trees. Laroche had planned to clone the orchids and then sell them for a small fortune to impassioned collectors. After he was caught in the act, Laroche set off one of the oddest legal controversies in recent memory, which brought together environmentalists, Native Amer-ican activists, and devoted orchid collectors. The result is a tale that is strange, compelling, and hilarious. New Yorker writer Susan Orlean followed Laroche through swamps and into the eccentric world of Florida's orchid collectors, a subculture of aristocrats, fanatics, and smugglers whose obsession with plants is all-consuming. Along the way, Orlean learned the history of orchid collecting, discovered an odd pattern of plant crimes in Florida, and spent time with Laroche's partners, a tribe of Seminole Indians who are still at war with the United States. There is something fascinating or funny or truly bizarre on every page of The Orchid Thief: the story of how the head of a famous Seminole chief came to be displayed in the front window of a local pharmacy; or how seven hundred iguanas were smuggled into Florida; or the case of the only known extraterrestrial plant crime. Ultimately, however, Susan Orlean's book is about passion itself, and the amazing lengths to which people will go to gratify it. That passion is captured with singular vision in The Orchid Thief, a once-in-a-lifetime story by one of our most original journalists.
From the Hardcover edition.
Twenty years ago, before she wrote "The Orchid Thief "or was hailed
as "a national treasure" by "The Washington Post," Susan Orlean was
a journalist with a question: What makes Saturday night so special?
To answer it, she embarked on a remarkable journey across the
country and spent the evening with all sorts of people in all sorts
of places--hipsters in Los Angeles, car cruisers in small-town
Indiana, coeds in Boston, the homeless in New York, a lounge band
in Portland, quinceanera revelers in Phoenix, and more--to
chronicle the one night of the week when we do the things we want
to do rather than the things we need to do. The result is an
irresistible portrait of how Saturday night in America is lived
that remains.
"Travel is not about finding something. It's about getting lost --
that is, it is about losing yourself in a place and a moment. The
little things that tether you to what's familiar are gone, and you
become a conduit through which the sensation of the place is felt."
-- from the introduction by Susan Orlean
The twenty pieces in this year's collection showcase the best
travel writing from 2006. George Saunders travels to India to
witness firsthand a fifteen-year-old boy who has been meditating
motionless under a tree for months without food or water, and who
many followers believe is the reincarnation of the Buddha. Matthew
Power reveals trickle-down economics at work in a Philippine
garbage dump. Jason Anthony describes the challenges of everyday
life in Vostok, the coldest place on earth, where temperatures dip
as low as minus-129 degrees and where, in midsummer, minus-20
degrees is considered a heat wave.
David Halberstam, in one of his last published essays, recalls how
an inauspicious Saigon restaurant changed the way he and other
reporters in Vietnam saw the world. Ian Frazier analyzes why we get
sick when traveling in out-of-the-way places. And Kevin Fedarko
embarks on a drug-fueled journey in Djibouti, chewing psychotropic
foliage in "the worst place on earth."
Closer to home, Steve Friedman profiles a 410-pound man who set out
to walk cross-country to lose weight and find happiness. Rick Bass
chases the elusive concept of the West in America, and Jonathan
Stern takes a hilarious Lonely Planet approach to his small
Manhattan apartment.
Cooper Gillespie, an extremely intelligent and handsome Welsh
springer spaniel, is a dog of discriminating taste and strong
opinions. Now Cooper, with the assistance of cookbook author Sally
Sampson and the transcription services of his favorite human, Susan
Orlean, has put together 50 delectable recipes for snacks, meals,
and treats for your canine companion.
Maybe you're cooking everything because your collie has colitis or
your Akita has a wheat allergy or your older dog just isn't
thriving on commercial kibble. Maybe you're mixing up the
occasional biscuit or treat to help your best fur-bearing friend
over that I-just-ate-a-tennis- ball-and-don't-feel-so-good episode.
Whatever the reason, the recipes in this book (which have been
approved by dog trainer and nutritional consultant Stacy Alldredge)
will satisfy the most discerning doggie palate. Many of them, in
fact, can be shared with a favorite human (though preferably not
from the same dish).
Illustrated with more than 50 endearing black-and-white
photographs of Cooper and friends by Cami Johnson, and liberally
seasoned with stories, quotes, and nutrition tips, "Throw Me a
Bone" makes a dog's dinner something to look forward to.
The Best American series has been the premier annual showcase for
the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction since 1915. Each
volume's series editor selects notable works from hundreds of
periodicals. A special guest editor, a leading writer in the field,
then chooses the very best twenty or so pieces to publish. This
unique system has made the Best American series the most
respected--and most popular--of its kind.
The Best American Essays 2005 includes
Roger Angell - Andrea Barrett - Jonathan Franzen - Ian Frazier -
Edward Hoagland - Ted Kooser - Jonathan Lethem - Danielle Ofri -
Oliver Sacks - Cathleen Schine - David Sedaris - Robert Stone -
David Foster Wallace - and others
Susan Orlean, guest editor, is the author of My Kind of Place, The
Orchid Thief, The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup, and Saturday
Night. A staff writer for The New Yorker since 1982, she has also
written for Outside, Esquire, Rolling Stone, and Vogue.
Susan Orlean's collection of profiles ranges from the well-known
(Marky Mark) to the unknown (Colin Duffy, a typical American man,
aged ten) to the formerly known (the cult sixties girl group the
Shaggs). Orlean meets with Cristina Sanchez, Spain's first
fully-qualified female matador, Silly Billy, New York's most
successful children's clown, an African king who is a New York
taxi-driver, and a champion show dog called Biff, who from a
certain angle looks like President Clinton. As in her remarkable
bestseller The Orchid Thief, soon to be the basis of Spike Being
John Malkovich Jonze's new film, starring Meryl Streep and Nicholas
Cage, Orlean's eye for the fascinatingly bizarre and her
wonderfully witty way with language make her take on the world
utterly original and unique.
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