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    John Wayne's America: The Politics of Celebrity
    John Wayne's America: The Politics of Celebrity
    John Wayne's America: The Politics of Celebrity
    Audiobook (abridged)2 hours

    John Wayne's America: The Politics of Celebrity

    Written by Garry Wills

    Narrated by Garry Wills

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Lincoln at Gettysburg brings his eloquence, wit, and on-target perceptions of American life and politics to this fascinating, well-drawn protrait of a twentieth-century hero. In this work of great originalitythe biography of an ideaGarry Wills shows how John Wayne came to embody Amercian values and influenced our cultoure to a degree unmatched by any other public figure of his time. In Wills's hands, Waynes story is tranformed into a compelling narrative about the intersection of popular entertainment and political realities in mid-twentieth-century America.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateMar 1, 1997
    ISBN9780743548946
    John Wayne's America: The Politics of Celebrity
    Author

    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

    3.5/5

    28 ratings2 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Fun 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.
    • 4/5
      The 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.