Zelda, The Queen of Paris The True Story of the Luckiest Dog in the World

In India, scavenging street dogs are treated as the lowest of the low. Shopkeepers swat them with brooms. Mothers scream at them and whisk their kids out of harm's way. Taxi drivers are happy to run them down. After a little time in India, you can understand why: these wild street dogs can be vicious, and many carry infections and disease, including rabies. Zeldais the story of one such slumdog, who with grit and humor won over an American couple, escaped the New Delhi streets, and wound up being crowned The Queen of Paris. From France, Zelda's exploits and renown spread through Italy and then to San Francisco, New York, and even to the dinner table of John Kenneth Galbraith, where tales of Zelda and her amazing odyssey reached the heights of Harvard prestige and Kennedy glamour. Jackie Kennedy herself was known to be a Zelda fan. On first encounter, Zelda's story might sound improbable, or even downright unbelievable. But, as this book shows, she really was one of the luckiest dogs in the world.

Paul Chutkow is an author and journalist who spent ten years with the Associated Press, then as a contributor to the Arts & Leisure and Travel sections of the New York Times, the Indian Statesman, and Cigar Aficionado. His books include Depardieu, the biography of actor Gérard Depardieu, which Kirkus Reviews called “among the best books ever written about film acting.” Visit him at paulchutkow.com.