Renni The Rescuer, A Dog of the Battlefield, by Felix Salten. 1940 first edition.

Written by Felix Salten. Translated by Kenneth C. Kaufman. Illustrated by Diana Thorne. First edition, 1940. The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Publishers. Indianapolis and New York.

Chapter I

"We shall call him Renni," said the man who raised shepherd dogs, as he took the puppy out of the basket, away from his mother. The old dog raised her head a little and followed her small son with a look of patient resignation.

"This was good-bye, and she knew it. But she lay down quietly again and went to sleep - or seemed to go to sleep.

"It was not for a dog to resist. She knew that, too. She was trustful and obedient."

Front Flap

"Felix Salten, exiled from his beloved Vienna, wrote this book in Switzerland, with a world in arms around him.

"Renni, the Red Cross dog, ranks with the greatest of his creations, the princely Bambi. And Renni's story surely comes more closely home to us, even as the life of the dog is nearer the life of man.

"Dogs do not understand this business of battle... But their part in it is beyond all praise - to help the helpless while there is still time for help, to glean a harvest of life where men have shown destruction.

"This is also the story of George, Renni's gentle master, who entirely by kindness, altogether without punishment, trains him for his work of finding the wounded.

"Renni is the hero of this book..."

Felix Salten (1869 - 1945) was born in Pest, Austria-Hungary but grew up in Vienna. Salten's literary career flourished as he became a part of the "Young Vienna" movement and gained recognition as a theater critic and author. He is best known for his novel "Bambi, a Life in the Woods," which was later adapted into the famous Disney animated film. Salten's life took a dramatic turn with the rise of the Nazi regime, forcing him to flee to Zurich, Switzerland.

The book's original owner, Philip Matter III, whose name is written on the front paste-down, worked for Phelps Dodge mining company and was owner of African Arts Ltd in Tucson, Arizona.

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Condition: Very Good/Good. Dust jacket: Wear along upper and lower edges, front and back, with chipping and small tears along lower edge; bumped at corners and head and tail of the spine; light soiling from handling, front and back. Yellow cloth cover boards with red decoration: Light wear along upper and lower edges, with light soiling at the tail of the spine; bumped at head and tail of the spine. Red top-stain on deckle-edge textblock is dotted with faint moisture spots. Front paste-down, and front and back paste-downs show light discoloration from glue. Pages are clean, undamaged, and complete.