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John Wayne: The Man Behind the Myth |  | Author: Michael Munn
Publisher: NAL Trade
Category: Book
List Price: $16.00
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Seller: quality7
Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 435450
Media: Paperback
Pages: 400
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6 x 1
ISBN: 0451214145
Dewey Decimal Number: 791.45
EAN: 9780451214140
ASIN: 0451214145
Publication Date: March 1, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
No legend ever walked taller than Hollywood icon John Wayne. Now, author Michael Munn's startling new biography sets the record straight on why Wayne didn't serve in World War II, on director John Ford's contribution to Wayne's career, and the mega-star's highs and lows: three failed marriages, and two desperate battles with cancer. Munn also discloses publicly, for the first time, Soviet dictator Josef Stalin's plot to assassinate Wayne because of his outspoken, potentially influential anti-Communist views. Drawing on time spent with Wayne on the set of Brannigan- and almost 100 interviews with those who knew him-Munn's rare, behind-the-scenes look proves this "absolute all-time movie star" was as much a hero in real life as he ever was on-screen.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 8
Saddling up anyway January 25, 2010
Roman Nies (Helibrunna)
He rejected communism and anything that threatened freedom of the individuals which made himself the object of threat by stalinists and Maoists.
This biography is revealing the actor`s personality since the author knew Wayne and many of his family members and closer friends personally.
Wayne made friends with anybody who shared his political views.
"American" would have been the suitable gravestone inscript that could have best pictured his life which was also a life of a dedicated patriot. This book gives not only an account of his private behaviour but also about the background of the shooting of his films. In his latter years he realized that he felt no longer at home in a world that lost the virtues for which John Wayne stood. Interestingly the great time of the western movies in which the good is victorious over the bad went down with the upcoming of the modern society in which values are questioned and sometimes reversed. John Wayne played always himself they said, as long as he embodied the American dream of freedom and justice.
That made him a living legend. But he was much more gentle and wise than the characters on the screen: "Never think anyone is better than you and and never think that you are better than anyone else. You have to try to be decent to anybody unless they give you a reason not to. I missed another great quotation which I found in the spot where he made some of his best films (Monument Valley). "Courage is almost scared to death but saddling up anyway". That was one of the maxims in his life.
And he kept to it until his death. No John Waynes any more in our times.
John Wayne Fan January 10, 2010
Aaron K. Adkins (Houston, TX USA)
If you are a John Wayne fan, you will enjoy this book. Mr. Munn says that he is a John Wayne fan at the beginning of the book. So am I, so we are birds of a feather. And having said that, I do not believe that Mr. Munn "whitewashes" over Wayne's problems.
I previously read "John Wayne: My Father" by Aissa Wayne, and I clearly preferred Mr. Munn's book. Aissa's book is too much a biography of her life, which I am not too interested in (I wish her well of course).
Mr. Munn conducted many interviews of Wayne's cotemporaries in the 1970s. The book benefits from this because most of these people are now dead. In fact, the book reads at times as if it was written in 1980 shortly after Wayne's death. I do wonder if the book could benefit in a few places from additional research today, especially the hard to believe report of the KGB attempt to assassinate Wayne.
I very much enjoyed this book, and I did not want to put it down. I recommend it to fellow fans of John Wayne.
 John Wayne Hates Horses August 7, 2009
J. R. Johnson (Orlando, Florida)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I really liked this book. It provided a lot of depth and insight into the man. It also included some interesting facts. One of these was that John Wayne did not like horses. He also wanted to be an attorney. All his wives were Latin women. I thought this was especially interesting since I am an attorney and have a Latin wife.
john wayne biography March 23, 2007
Timothy L. West (Saint Jo, Texas USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Book started out a little slow but as it went along it became a more interesting read. I do recommend it for any John Wayne fans.
An American Icon July 5, 2006
Readalots (South Texas, USA)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
Michael Munn's "John Wayne: The Man Behind the Myth" (2003) presents the life of one of America's greatest 20th century icons. This 386-page hardback is comfortably researched with 17 pages of filmography (describing, briefly, each John Wayne film), 5 pages of sources, and a two page annotated bibliography.
Munn brings motion picture super star John Wayne to life with a comprehensive chronological narrative of his life and career. Using Wayne era media documentation, personal interviews with friends, family, and co-stars, and reviewing books about the Duke the author reintroduces readers to John Wayne's greatness. Memorable stories are told from the Duke's personal, family, and performance lives.
We hear from John Agar, Lee Van Cleef, Rock Hudson, Charlton Heston, Jennifer O'Neill, Sammy Davis, Jr., Maureen O'Hara, and many more about Wayne. Readers learn about his opinions on Richard Widmark's acting, John Huston's directing, and daughter Aissa's script reading. One discovers which one of Wayne's films was his own favorite ("The Alamo") and which was the simplest for him to make ("True Grit"). (John Wayne turned down the "Dirty Harry" part after Frank Sinatra's refusal because he didn't want a Sinatra's rejection and the Duke also didn't like the image of a rogue cop.) Wayne's families, religion (as a back-sliding Presbyterian), politics (as an Orange County Reagan Republican), love for alcohol, and lung cancer (which ultimately killed him in 1979) are reviewed.
Munn's story of John Wayne's rise from a movie back lot janitor (as an injured USC football player) to mega star adored by millions is interesting and at times riveting. Much of the Duke's life was like a John Wayne movie. The Duke was involved in hunting accidents, stage and scene mishaps, and was once targeted by the Brezhnev government for his anti Soviet views. The Duke liked fist fighting, rifle shooting, and loving Latinas. (Munn is comprehensive, reflective, and convincing.)
Michael Munn's "John Wayne: The Man Behind the Myth" is written in a non-technical novelistic style. For me, it was a quick read. All John Wayne aficionados should own a copy. It is recommended to everyone.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 8
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