Customer Reviews

John Wayne: There Rode a Legend

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I'm not the review writing type, but this title deserves the merit. This book is not just for John Wayne fans but for those who just enjoy superbly produced books. This title is a knockout and I would highly recommend it. There is so much in it about Duke that I didn't know existed, and I certainly didn't know he owned 83,000 head of cattle. Great book - great buy.

All I can say about this book is that it is the best book out there about our national treasure, John Wayne. He is as popular today as he has ever been and it was a pleasure to find this book through a friend. It's a huge book, with great, rare photographs about Duke's West. I had read some of the other reviews, and I was also not aware that Duke was a cattle rancher in real life. The book is brimming over with great art and photographs. If your looking for a gift for a friend or just to give yourself a treat, this is the book for you. I was impressed as much as the great 'impressiveness' of the book.

My dad loves John Wayne, which is why I picked up this book as a Father's Day gift. He is going to absoutely love it! I expected a simple coffee table book and got a technicolor heirloom. There are a wealth of personal stories and photographs of the Duke and his life as an on-screen Western genre star as well as a real life cowboy (I didn't know he was a rancher and breeder of purebred Hereford cattle!) I laughed out loud at several of the stories and cried after reading how John Wayne saved a small Navajo girl with pneumonia by lending his own airplane to fly the girl to the hospital one hundred miles away. Reading this book was like looking through John Wayne's personal scrap book. I highly recommend it -- it's going to make a great Father's Day gift!

Enhanced with a foreword by actress Maureen O'Hara, and graced with an informative text by Jane Pattie, John Wayne: There Rode A Legend is a gorgeous, superbly illustrated coffee table book showcasing the life, career, movies, deeds, and memories of the world famous actor John Wayne, best known for his many classic American West movies. Filled with both color photographs and black-and-white television and movie stills from before the firm establishment of color TV, John Wayne: There Rode A Legend is a remarkable tour of and tribute to the actor's life and work, from the 30's to the 60's. Of special note are the highlights that reveal John Wayne's humanitarian legacy, from when he had a gravely ill Navajo girl flown to a hospital 100 miles away on his personal plane to the creation of the John Wayne Cancer Institute years after the great actor's death from stomach cancer. John Wayne: There Rode A Legend is beyond compare and enthusiastically recommended for Western film buffs and the legions of fans of a truly unique actor and his enduring work.

My dad loves John Wayne, which is why I picked up this book as a Father's Day gift. He is going to absoutely love it! I expected a simple coffee table book and got a technocolor heirloom. There are a wealth of personal stories and photographs of the Duke and his life as an on-screen Western genre star as well as a real life cowboy (I didn't know he was a rancher and breeder of purebred Hereford cattle!) I laughed out loud at several of the stories and cried after reading how John Wayne saved a small Navajo girl with pneumonia by lending his own airplane to fly the girl to the hospital one hundred miles away. Reading this book was like looking through John Wayne's personal scrap book. I highly recommend it -- it's going to make a great Father's Day gift!

This book is a book Mr. Wayne would have enjoyed. The pictures and text is excellent. The true cowboys of the west were not of the moral statue of Mr. Waynes Movie roles but they should have been. Yes he made some less than able pictures but they were rare. And of the many western stars - ie- Mcrea, Scott, Ford, Holden. Lancaster, Cooper, Flynn- they were very good but John Wayne star shines greater and will forever. He was the embodiment of the Western American. He was what young boys hoped to become, and grownup they regretted never becoming!!!! Thank you Mr. Wayne for your life in films.

It's mindboggling to think that the Duke has been gone almost 30 years now. John Wayne died on June 11, 1979 and for millions of fans, the world seemed a little less bright, a little less comforting, a little less fun. Since then there have been a score of books on Wayne, his films, his politics, etc. This 2000 coffee-table tribute from author Jane Pattie and Western Classics ranks as one of the best. Bulging with photographs and information, it's a great read and a fine tribute to a singular actor.

In some 275 pages, author Pattie lovingly traces Wayne's life and film career. The book has a ton of info on the Duke: a decade-by-decade breakdown of his films; a filmography; a bibliography; chapters on his screen duds, cinematic sweethearts and sidekicks, the Three Mesquiteers series, his 26 Bar cattle ranch; Michael Wayne's list of the Duke's top 10 films; Wayne memorabilia; John Wayne's legacy; and so on. Along with Pattie's narrative, Maureen O'Hara and a number of other actors and family members supply - often heartfelt -reminiscences of John Wayne the man and the actor.

Then too JOHN WAYNE...THERE RODE A LEGEND is a visual treat for fans of the Duke. Over 460 black & white and color photographs, movie posters, comic book covers and artworks compliment the text. This is one treasure trove of a book!

In short, I enjoyed this book immensely. It's marvelous reading, a visual delight to boot and comes highly recommended.

This book has alot of realy nice pictures and story. It's very beautifully done. I bought it for my father in law and he loved it. He said he had another John Wayne book but, this one was much nicer. I recieved it quickly. The book jacket was crinkled and the seller said I could exchange it after I gave it to my father in law. But my father in law said he could fix it so there was no need to do so. I would highly recomend this book to any John Wayne or western lover. Great coffee table book or addition to any personal library.

For the western movie or John Wayne fan this is a must add to your library. A bit about the man and a lot about his western films, and the films are where the legend springs. Well done with lots of pictures and Michael Wayne's pick of his dad's ten best western films, which I as a fan of the genre, would concur. Maybe not the greatest actor ever, but certainly a darn good one who was underrated for most of his career, and one who gave a picture of the west that, while perhaps not terribly accurate, has endured for decades because it celebrated most of the positive attributes of the spirit that made the country what it had become, at least as of mid century.
There have been few actors that have reached the statue of this man, and endured for anything close to his run of popularity. Recommend the book for what it is, the celebration of that portion of a career that made the man an icon.

BEING AN AVID JOHN WAYNE FAN I AM COMPELLED TO KEEP THIS BOOK IN SPITE OF THE HAPHAZARD PRESENTATION OF HIS CAREER. THE QUALITY OF PAPER,PICTURES,AND PRINTING WERE EXCELLENT. IN MY OPINION THE SEQUENCE OF EVENTS SHOULD HAVE BEEN PRESENTED IN THE ORDER THEY OCCURRED.

YOURS TRULY, ROBERT L. JORDAN