John Wayne Treasures Featuring a Collection of Memorabilia from the Life of the Duke

by Randy Roberts, David Welky

John Wayne is the quintessential American icon. He embodied the definition of the American cowboy, soldier, and rugged individualist. Duke’s extraordinary rise to fame—from hauling furniture around studio lots to becoming one of the most famous actors in the world—is chronicled in this handsome volume, complete with on-set and behind-the-scenes photographs, vintage movie posters, and cigarette cards from his most well-known movies.

Hardcover

Published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book focuses on John Wayne’s movie career with only a few details about his personal life. There is insight offered about his thoughts about his acting career over time, why he took roles and why he refused roles. As you night assume, his strong sense of patriotism was his true feeling about America. He selected roles to play and played them in a manner that would reflect well on America and on American exceptionalism. He knew he worked in a “what have you done for me lately” business. So, from a distance, it appeared to most fans that after he appeared in Stagecoach in 1939, he was at the top of his profession from then until his death. Actually, he needed to prove himself each and every time he made a movie. The standards he set for himself were high and he expected the same from his costars and movie crew. Overall, he was a nice man and a generous man, but he would but heads on the set when he didn’t think things were going well.

[Emmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of John Wayne's films, but I didn't know much about him as a person. This was an incredibly readable book by authors who were obviously John Wayne fans, written through the lens of his movies. While perhaps I would have liked to have known a little more about his personal life (especially his childhood), I thought that this was a beautiful tribute to a great man and a wonderful introduction to learning about him. Plus, there were tons of pictures, and even bonus content tucked into a folder in the back of the book! A must-read for any fan.

[E.H. Nolan · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I had just finished reading the quintessential John Wayne biography, The Man Behind the Myth, this coffee table book, John Wayne Treasures, was the perfect companion piece. The former didn’t contain a single photograph, and the latter was basically a picture book with a few paragraphs thrown in for good measure.

If you want to get to know Duke, definitely check out Michael Munn’s well-researched book. If you’ve already read your fair share of biographies (there are tons out there to choose from) and you just love everything John Wayne, you’ll be interested in this fun one. It features only a cursory biography, with more of the writing discussing plot synopses than life events, so you’re only in it for the photos. There are some great color glossies, rounding out your biography section of your library.

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