John Wayne: American by Randy Roberts, James S. Olson
|
List Price: Our Price: $21.86 You Save: $8.09 (27%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $8.54 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of John Wayne: American
Book Review: The Duke Of America
Summary: 5 Stars
A very well written biography of a very complicated man. From the Duke's childhood to his later years in Hollywood, you get the full picture of an American legend that was patriotic, controversial, opinionated, grateful, and a deliberate artist.
John Wayne: American takes you into Wayne's inner circle of friends, family, and co-workers. If you love John Wayne, or even kind of like him, you'll love this book. There are some shockers that reveal the man behind the curtain that is sure to be a water cooler discussion after you read the book.
Book Review: excellant book .
Summary: 5 Stars
I enjoyed this book more than I can Say . Being 80 yrs. old ,
I have grown up with John Wayne , more so than any other movie
" STAR ". Buy this book , you will treasure it .
Jack Yannuzzi
Book Review: The Duke lives again!
Summary: 5 Stars
Roberts and Olsen have written the difinitive book about an American Icon. Not only do they go into who John Wayne was, but they delve into the outside forces that transformed a kid from Winterset Iowa into an American legend!Bravo!Book Review: The Duke...
Summary: 4 Stars
John Wayne wasn't the biggest movie star to me as a boy growing up in the 1960's and 70's. He was the *only* movie star. He was THE cowboy, THE soldier, THE sailor, and THE marine. He was America's biggest hero. A discussion of movies couldn't occur without John Wayne front and center. As adolescent boys, with an air of expertise, we'd dissect his performances with the gravity usually reserved for sports legends. Thirty years later, my tastes have broadened a bit, but with a nostalgic pull I still imagine John Wayne as the ultimate expression of American manhood. Call me a relic, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a man in my age group who doesn't.
John Wayne: American by Roberts and Olson, however, exposes more of Wayne's life than that to which a young boy was privy. Though the authors clearly admire Wayne, they do not hide his weaknesses. Wayne was a problematic husband, a heavy drinker and smoker, and prone to impolitic outbursts. He chose career over family, his friends over his marriages, and showed no real desire to change. Yet, Wayne was a consummate professional, a deft actor, a loyal friend, a driven businessman - he was an American icon. Great men have great flaws and, as Roberts and Olson make clear, Marion Morrison was no exception.
A quick pace, capable writing, and a larger-than-life subject make this biography well worth reading. I was inspired to revisit Wayne's filmography, sampling movies as far back as The Big Trail (1930) and my all-time favorites, Sands of Iwo Jima, The Searchers, and True Grit. No actor before or since has reached the institutional status of John Wayne. And, with American popular culture forever changed, no one likely ever will. 4+ stars.
Book Review: The Greatest Movie Star Who Ever Lived?
Summary: 4 Stars
I've seen a lot of John Wayne movies, but knew little about the man until I read this book. This is a thorough, well-researched, and well-written book about his life. I don't think you can help liking the big lug, despite his many faults. He was loyal to his friends, honest, well-meaning, and a hard worker at his craft of acting. The biggest negative about Wayne is that he didn't serve in the military during World War II. The authors go into the reasons and don't spare him criticism. Wayne was undoubtedly more important to the war effort as a maker of patriotic movies than he would have been carrying a rifle - but that doesn't excuse him. He was the original chicken-hawk - a species that is proliferating these days.
I also found the material interesting about the ideological struggle in Hollywood between right and left in the late 1940s and 1950s. We hear a lot a criticism about "black lists" and Hollywood types boycotted because they were leftists; this book points out that the leftists also had their fangs out to bring down the rightists like Wayne. That he came out on top, despite his unpopular political stances, is a tribute to his honesty and stubborn inflexibility - similar to the characters he played.
I doubt that any other movie star is so distinctive in walk and talk - or more deserving of a good biography. I enjoyed the book - and I look forward to reading more about John Wayne someday in a book which will probe even deeper into his life, career, and psyche. Wayne was an American original.