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    American Titan: Searching for John Wayne
    American Titan: Searching for John Wayne
    American Titan: Searching for John Wayne
    Audiobook12 hours

    American Titan: Searching for John Wayne

    Written by Marc Eliot

    Narrated by Pete Larkin

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    About this audiobook

    From the veteran New York Times bestselling biographer comes a major, in-depth look at one of the most enduring American icons of all time, “the Duke,” John Wayne.

    As he did in his bestselling biographies of Jimmy Stewart and Clint Eastwood, acclaimed Hollywood biographer Marc Eliot digs deep beneath the myth in this revealing look at the most legendary Western film hero of all time; the man with the distinctive voice, walk, and demeanor who was an inspiration to many and a symbol of American masculinity, power, and patriotism.

    Eliot pays tribute to the man and the myth, identifying and analyzing the many interesting contradictions that made John Wayne who he was: an Academy Award-winning actor associated with cowboys and soldiers who didn’t like horses and never served in a war; a Republican icon who voted for Democrats Roosevelt and Truman; a white man often accused of racism who married three Mexican wives. Here are stories of the movies he made famous as well as numerous friends and legendary colleagues such as John Ford, Maureen O’Hara, Natalie Wood, and Dean Martin.

    A top box-office draw for more than three decades—starring in 142 films from Stagecoach and True Grit, for which he won the Oscar to The Quiet Man and The Green Berets—John Wayne’s life and career paralleled nearly the entire twentieth century, from the Depression through World War II to the upheavals of the 1960s. Setting his life within the sweeping political and social transformations that defined the nation, Eliot’s masterful portrait of the man they called Duke is a remarkable in depth look at a life and the “American Century” itself.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateNov 4, 2014
    ISBN9780062378286
    Author

    Marc Eliot

    Marc Eliot is the New York Times bestselling author of more than two dozen books on popular culture, among them the highly acclaimed Cary Grant, the award-winning Walt Disney: Hollywood’s Dark Prince, and American Rebel: The Life of Clint Eastwood. His work has been published in more than twenty-five languages, and he writes for a number of publications and frequently speaks about film to universities and film groups, and on radio and television.

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    Reviews for American Titan

    4/5

    16 ratings3 reviews

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    • 5/5
      An excellent listen. I learnt a lot from this book and it has inspired me to rewatch John Wayne's body of work with fresh eyes.
    • 3/5
      An all around interesting biography on John Wayne. The author's note at the end of the book explains his method of biography writing which he bases on an actor's body of work reflecting the life of the person; he explains the concept of "auteurism". I've never heard of this before. However, I enjoyed the book quite well. It is a highly positive look at John Wayne in chronological order through his movies. While remaining "pro"-Wayne the book does take on his controversial aspects such as Wayne's refusal to serve in the military. I've seen a lot of Wayne movies and knew him to be the ideal "American" of his time but didn't really know much of anything about him except that he died of cancer. The biography was highly entertaining and informative with lots of anecdotes about happenings on set and his relations with other actors of the day. Many famous names are included here. Wayne was a very opinionated man, extremely political and Republican who had no time to waste on fools so there are certainly some captivating stories! But The Duke was always a gentleman and respectful to others even when he totally disagreed with them. The author's writing is very readable but he does tend to follow a pattern chapter after chapter which becomes a bit tedious, such as continuously stating the salaries Wayne and his co-stars received for each movie as footnotes. Occasionally this information was eye-opening but the frequency of it tiresome. Overall, a good read about the American patriotic movie scene from the silent movie era to the early seventies focusing mainly on westerns and war movies.
    • 4/5
      AMERICAN TITAN provides an extensive discussion of the life of John Wayne, with special focus on each of his films. The book begins with his family background, then soon branches into the early life of Marion Morrison. As a young gangly boy with an odd name, Marion was endlessly ridiculed by his schoolmates, until he learned how to fight and punch. After he decked one of his bigger tormentors, that put a stop to the teasing.

      Most of AMERICAN TITAN is spent on the films. There is much detail--the actors, producer, director, etc. A lot of time is spent on Wayne's friendships with the directors and producers. The extensive notes and details on each film gets a little old after a while, but readers who are avid film buffs will find that part more interesting.

      It was interesting to see how Wayne slowly got his start in Hollywood, and how poor an actor he was at first. When asked if he could ask, he replied, "Don't be silly, I can't act."

      For me, the highlight of the book was near the end of the book, where Wayne is (barely) able to make it to the 1979 Academy Awards. The backstage workers honored him with an ovation, and Wayne quipped, "Hell, I'd have gotten sick before if I knew I'd get this kind of treatment." After his introduction by Johnny Carson, the frail actor ambles onto the stage, where he presents the award for Best Picture.

      All in all, AMERICAN TITAN is an interesting read, albeit a little slow at times. It was heart wrenching to read about Wayne's last days, and his terrible end due to stomach cancer.

      I have seen the bigger than life status of John Wayne many times at Orange County Airport, and it was good to finally get to know more about this great actor. Eliot provides an extensive Bibliography and Resource Notes at the end of the book.

      Review copy courtesy of NetGalley