John Wayne's America: The Politics of Celebrity
Written by Garry Wills
Narrated by Garry Wills
3.5/5
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About this audiobook
Garry Wills
Garry Wills is the author of 21 books, including the bestseller Lincoln at Gettysburg (winner of the 1992 Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award), John Wayne's America, Certain Trumpets, Under God, and Necessary Evil. A frequent contributor to many national publications, including the New York Times Magazine and the New York Review of Books, he is also an adjunct professor of history at Northwestern University and lives in Evanston, Illinois.
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Reviews for John Wayne's America
28 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Fun to read account of how John Wayne and his image fit into American politics and culture. Talks a lot about specific films and directors, especially John Ford.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The book, while well written, was somewhat disappointing. Wills gets close to describing not only John Wayne's America and the role of John Wayne in the creation of the cowboy myth, but he never dives deeply into it. It appears he is a fan, which is okay if he doesn't let it get in the way of what he is doing, but much (too much) time is spent on Wayne's natural grace and not enough on the political turmoil that he helped shape. It is there, there are references, and the final chapter appears to bring up a little more, but most of the work is devoted to a thorough examination of key films, which was interesting but did not really explicate the theme. It does give more than enough material for another writer to build on and focus on the America that was supposed to be the subject of this book. And while the author acknowledges the misogyny in the films and appears to be sad about it, there seems to be somewhat of a dismissal of the impact on actual men and women in actual life as he helps normalize the idea of abusing women and humiliating women. Overall, a good read, especially if you're a John Wayne fan but don't think he's perfect. Just don't expect the cogent political analysis usually expected from Wills.