Customer Reviews

The American War Film: History and Hollywood

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McAdams has put together a very readable history of war movies, their impact on our society, and their impact on later wars. Eminently credible, it's possible McAdams is the only man who could have written such a book. Not only was he a Marine combat officer in Vietnam and knows war, but he has spent decades as an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California's Department of Cinema and TV. Plus he teaches screenwriting in the UCLA Extension Writers Program. His knowledge of movies, plus his appreciation of what people want to know about movies and those involved in movies, comes out in every page. Did you know Audie Murphy, at 112 pounds was turned down by the Marines, but later became the most decorated soldier of WWII? Or that John Wayne never wore a military uniform? And did you ever wonder about the Communist Party's involvement in Hollywood? McAdams knows, and he shares his knowledge with the reader the way a neighbor would share his crop. This is a writer who cares about his reader, and this is a must read for those who care about movies.