John Wayne's America: The Politics of Celebrity
by Garry Wills
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Description
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 originality, the biography of an idea, Garry 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, Wayne's story is tranformed into a compelling show more narrative about the intersection of popular entertainment and political realities in mid-twentieth-century America. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
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 show more 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. show less
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.
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ThingScore 50
The book's crowded agenda, with its generous dose of debunking and deconstruction, yields fascinating insights and revelations but also irritating and tedious passages as well. Mr. Wills's prodigiousness lies in gifts not usually found together: a zeal for meticulous research combined with the head-spinning leaps and pirouettes of the essayist. Having lived on both sides of the show more liberal-conservative divide, he is able to penetrate masks and self-deceptions invisible to the rest of us, with our politically interested points of view. But with that bias-free stance comes a querulous, carping, smarter-than-thou tone: he stands above the fray, kvetching right and left, finding chinks in everybody's armor. show less
added by Shortride
Although Mr. Wills brings his usual acumen and fluency to this discussion, the long-winded volume he has produced is really little more than a modest essay, padded out to book length with biographical asides, tired analyses of Wayne's movies and detailed assessments of his work with the directors John Ford and Howard Hawks. The central focus of the book is often lost, as though Mr. Wills felt show more compelled to use all the research he'd accumulated along the way or simply wanted to showcase his abilities as a film critic. show less
added by Shortride
Author Information
68+ Works 13,261 Members
Garry Wills, 1934 - Garry Wills was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1934. Wills received a B.A. from St. Louis University in 1957, an M.A. from Xavier University of Cincinnati in 1958, an M.A. (1959) and a Ph.D. (1961) in classics from Yale. Wills was a junior fellow of the Center for Hellenic Studies from 1961-62, an associate professor of classics show more and adjunct professor of humanities at Johns Hopkins University from 1962-80. Wills was the first Washington Irving Professor of Modern American History and Literature at Union College, and was also a Regents Professor at the University of California in Santa Barbara, Silliman Seminarist at Yale, Christian Gauss Lecturer at Princeton, W.W. Cook Lecturer at the University of Michigan Law School, Hubert Humphrey Seminarist at Macalester College, Welch Professor of American Studies at Notre Dame University and Henry R. Luce Professor of American Culture and Public Policy at Northwestern University (1980-88). Wills is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and his articles appear frequently in The New York Review of Books. Wills is the author of "Lincoln at Gettysburg," which won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 1993 and the NEH Presidential Medal, "John Wayne's America," "A Necessary Evil: A History of American Distrust of Government" and "The Kennedy Imprisonment." Other awards received by Wills include the National Book Critics Award, the Merle Curti Award of the organization of American Historians, the Wilbur Cross Medal from Yale Graduate School, the Harold Washington Book Award and the Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting, which was for writing and narrating the 1988 "Frontline" documentary "The Candidates." (Bowker Author Biography) Garry Wills is a Pulitzer-prize winning historian and cultural critic. A former professor of Greek at Yale University, his many books include Lincoln at Gettysburg, Reagan's America, Witches and Jesuits, and a biography of Saint Augustine. He lives in Evanston, Indiana. (Publisher Provided) Garry Wills is a frequent contributor to The New York Times Magazine and The New York Review of Books. He lives in Evanston, Illinois. (Publisher Provided) show less
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- John Wayne's America: The Politics of Celebrity
- People/Characters
- John Wayne
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir, Sociology, General Nonfiction, History
- DDC/MDS
- 791.43 — Arts & recreation Recreation, sports, and performing arts Movies, TV, Video Motion pictures, radio, television, podcasting Motion pictures
- LCC
- PN2287 .W454 .W56 — Language and Literature Literature (General) Literature (General) Drama Dramatic representation. The theater Special regions or countries
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 174
- Popularity
- 187,032
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.65)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 9
- ASINs
- 2
