Product Description
Perhaps best known for his classic movie lines, such as Fill your hands, you sons-a-bitches from True Grit, the late actor John Wayne often displayed a spontaneous and biting wit away from the screen as well. This gem of inspiration contains Wayne anecdotes on God and country, the old West, friends and family, acting, and quotes from others about John Wayne the actor, and John Wayne the man. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

A "True" American
John Wayne was my "Hero" when I was growing up.And as you know, all kids needed heroes, at least they used to.The heroes of kids nowadays aren't worth a hill of beans.John Wayne was a hero to more than just kids.He was also a true American.He instilled the values and morals in me, that it took to join the military during one of the craziest wars this country ever seen.John Wayne will be missed.

A Great Gift For John's Greatest Fan
I bought this item for my cousin -- an avid John Wayne fan -- and he loved it!It's a great little book and a great collector's item for all JW fans.

John Wayne, interesting man
It is good to know different sides to a person.In Wayne's own words you see who he was.He was funny, patriotic, and opinionated.John Wayne loved his family, friends and America.He did not take himself seriously-he took his life seriously.Carol Lea Muller has done a good job of showing many side of John Wayne throught his own words.

My Father Enjoyed This Book
My dad is a John Wayne fan and enjoyed reading this book.I personally have not read it.

Perfectly Satisfied
The Quotable John Wayne: The Grit and Wisdom of an American Icon (Hardcover)

Book arrived in a timely manner and my husband loved it!Thank you.
... Read more

Product Description
The first book to reveal what was the real West and what was Hollywoodin John Wayne’s movies.John Wayne is the most iconic cowboy actor of all time. His style brought to lifea whole troupe of western characters, from rancher to cowboy to sheriff to scout.During his long career—in which he starred in over 175 films—Wayne’s workbecame fundamental to our understanding of the Old West. But how much ofwhat we saw in his movies was “real?” In John Wayne’s Wild West, you will learnabout the equipment, weapons, clothes, tack, boots, and other paraphernalia featuredin Wayne’s westerns, including his personal favorite gun, the Winchestercarbine. John Wayne’s Wild West is the book for fans of John Wayne movies andfor history buffs alike. 100 color and 100 black-and-white illustrations ... Read more

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. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

utter nonsense
An amateurish and fawning biography of Wayne, merely garden-variety incompetent with one big exception. Either credulous, lazy or for some other reason, the author accepts as fact the ludicrous allegations that Stalin, the Viet Cong and I forget who else tried to assassinate Wayne at various times. No evidence; it just seems that Wayne's stunt man and Orson Welles (!!) told the author so once. Given the end of the Soviet Union, there should be an opportunity to consult KGB files and at see if there might be any evidence to this outlandish assertion. There's little else thoughtful here, also, especially on what Wayne meant to American culture and the mythos of the frontier that he represented (although we do learn that Ward Bond was a right-winger, but not, inexplicably, that frequent co-starring character actor Victor McLaglen was once one of the Great White Hopes vying to overthrow Jack Johnson.)

I love John Wayne, I really do. Don't get me wrong -- that he was a not very bright, not very good actor simply makes him more endearing, and more interesting. But none of this gets treated thoughtfully in this wretched book. Much more interesting is Gary Wills' John Wayne's America, a better book by an order of magnitude. Oh, and also, Wayne shirked his duty in World War II -- get over it. While other actors served, at least in documentary units and other non-combat roles, Wayne made movies. So be it. In one way, this too makes him more interesting, given his worn-on-the-sleeve patriotism. But John Ford wouldn't let him enlist? It was vital to the war effort that he keep making movies? Please.

A Fun Read
This is truly a fun book. Each page is a joy to read. It is a must read for any John Wayne fan. Also, it is a good read for any movie fan in general.

The book is a good read. The author did some extensive work, interviewing hundreds to include John Wayne himself. You get a real feel for who John Wayne was as a person and a movie star. There is also a hidden plus to the book. The author does offer quick stories about several of his movies. These stories are real interesting to any movie fan. You see how movies are made in Hollywood then. You also get some little known facts about John too like how the Communists viewed him so much of a threat they tried to kill him. After his first case with cancer he had trouble breathing. How he went broke due to a bad business manager in his first 20 years. For almost 25 years he was one of America's top box office draws. Also you see John had a good sense of humor.

Through reading the book you get a feel you really know John Wayne. To me it sort of enhances his on screen performances.

Saddling up anyway
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
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
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. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The "Best" John Wayne Calendar!
This is The Best quality John Wayne Calendar I have purchased anywhere!
I'm a devoted John Wayne admirer and fan! I have several calendars I bought while vacationing and given as gifts. I was surprised by the quality of this one! Really wasn't expecting it, as to the price I paid. I was planning on using it for "written date reminders" as I would any calendar. Nope! It hangs as a prized collected display!
I can guarantee you will be very pleased with it!

head and shoulders above the rest
hi another year of jw calendar and again mostly black and white and head and shoulders photos. the man made over a 100 movies!!regardsken ... Read more

Product Description
Available for the first time in paperback is Aissa Wayne's poignant memoir. The daughter of John Wayne and his third wife, Pilar, Aissa delves into her father's childhood, his film career, and his life off the screen. "John Wayne: My Father" reports Wayne's life faithfully and compassionately, resulting in an affecting portrait that offers a new perspective on one of America's most enduring heroes. 16-pp. photo insert . ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

A Very Personal Book
This book lets you see what its like being a celebrities kid and the downsides of that lifestyle. It is both a celebration of John Wayne and a very personal glimpse of him no regular person would know. Therefore, some will not like knowing that he had his faults like anyone else. To me, it brought the guy I grew up knowing as my hero that much closer. Aissa did a fine job. I read this book in two days. If you want a glorifying hero worship book, you will not like this. If you want to read about how every kid struggles with growing up, this is it with a fascinating twist and history of the Duke.

Wrong title for this book
This book is a total dissappointment. It should have been titled "Aissa the daughter of John Wayne" as it is more about her than her father.

A must read for any John Wayne fan.
This book gives a very frank and personal view of John Wayne as a father and regular guy.I found it very moving at times and it brought Duke into perspective as a human being and not just the giant Hollywood icon.Like many others, I admired him from the time I saw my first John Wayne movie and I still watch them today.I had one opportunity to meet him which I regret did not work out. I'm glad Aissa Wayne shared her memories with us.

Disappointed
Aissa Wayne (the author of this book and daughter of John Wanye)wines and complains thoughout the whole book. Making this very disappointing if you were hoping to read some good stories of John Wayne behind the camera.

Her Father Would Be Proud....
I am close to the same age as Aissa and from the time I was 10, while other pre-teen girls were obsessing over Bobby Sherman and David Cassidy, I was crazy about John Wayne -50 years my senior.This adoration carried over throughout high school and was so well known that one boy, trying to secure a date, only succeeded by impersonating John Wayne's familiar drawl and naming his jeep "The Duke."In Tucson, the whole town loved John Wayne and affectionately dubbed a Saturday Night midnight viewing of his earliest 1930's westerns - "The Worst of John Wayne."All my dates knew that I had to be home by 11:45 PM because this weekly event couldn't be missed.When he passed away, my friends sent sympathy cards to me and I truly mourned him.

For years, I avoided this book because I thought it would read like "Daddy Dearest."After reading it, I am only sorry that it took me so long to order it.

Aissa presents a candid and honest view of her famous father - through a daughter's eyes.She speaks with love and pride of her father and yet also addresses the downside of being a child of such a famous icon as well.Some of the ways that her father showed his love toward her were so incredibly sweet that I actually envied her childhood.And some of his strictness - especially towards his sons, was so indicative of how men in that era believed that "real men don't cry" and that it was their duty to instruct their sons to be "strong and silent."

In reading the book, it is so clear that John Wayne deeply loved his children - but Aissa was probably his favorite.I believe that her father showed his love the most by not always being the "nice guy," but by often being pretty strict.Parents can't always be friends with their kids during the teenage years because authority is questioned and undermined so much during those years, but it is obvious that John Wayne was strong and responsible and wanted to prepare Aissa with qualities that would carry her over to adulthood.The fact that Aissa became an attorney speaks volumes in that her father would be so immensely proud of her as this was an ambition of his as well.

In many ways, I identified with Aissa because my father was also "larger than life" as a commanding officer of the Green Berets.Ironically, he passed away from lung cancer 5 years before John Wayne.Although not famous, as children of an officer, we were required to present a façade and behave in a manner that would enhance my father's career so I understood to some degree the resentment that Aissa felt growing up.Likewise, I think that we all were somewhat mortified to be around our parents in the 70's.I also know what it is like to have such a vibrant force depart and how angry I felt because he had died and how lost our whole family felt for so many years afterwards.So this book was like reading part of my life.Aissa states that for so many years she was attracted to men like her father and I can see now why I idolized John Wayne.

The one area of the book that I questioned was John Wayne's relationship to his personal secretary, Pat Stacy.I remember the Barbara Walters interview and I am almost sure that he actually wiped a tear away during the interview and then stated that he had found a woman that he really loved.Also, Maureen O'Hara - one of the Duke's best friends, mentions in her book that John Wayne and Pat were in love and that she was glad that he could share his last years with a woman he loved.Likewise, he bought Pat a house right across the street from him as I think in his own mind John Wayne would not want to openly "live with" Pat during that era.It is understandable that Aissa did not want to see that her father was in love with another woman other than her mother.But I believe that John Wayne would want Aissa and Pat now to be friends because he loved them both so much.Personally, I believe that both Aissa and Pat wrote books about John Wayne, not to financially benefit from it, but rather because they felt they owed it to his fans, to themselves, and to John Wayne, himself.

Two things that I wish had been included in this book:Aissa did not mention that her father had been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, with the words " John Wayne - American." I think that this award must have meant so much to her father - almost more than all his other awards. Also, one of my favorite memories of her father was when he appeared on the hugely popular "Laugh-In."He wore this huge bunny suit and had a deadpanned expression and only John Wayne could have gotten away with this.It was hilarious and it just made me think so much more of him that he could be so vulnerable and confident enough to do this.

I have a great amount of respect for Aissa for writing this intimate and honest account of her father through her eyes.We all felt that the Duke "belonged" to us and I am sure that it wasn't easy to share her famous father with the world.
... Read more

Product Description
Once in a lifetime there may come to an author the opportunity to produce a book as distinguished as this acclaimed tribute to the Duke—a man as large as the American West he so loved. It is the first book ever to have the complete cooperation of the late Michael Wayne and is a classic production that spotlights John Wayne’s West from reel to real through 400 exciting images, with text by Jane Pattie. These visual remembrances, many from private collections, are high points from five decades of his film and ranching careers. There are 276 pages of colorful reminisces of the man who was John Wayne, the film icon, and Duke Wayne, the loyal and generous friend, including the story of the 26 Bar Ranch in Arizona co-owned by Wayne and his best friend, Louis Johnson, cattleman extraordinaire.

The centennial celebration of John Wayne’s birth will occur on May 26, 2007, 100 years after he was born Marion Michael Morrison in Winterset, Iowa. This imposing western biography salutes him as a timeless American. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

JOHN WAYNE..THERE RODE A LEGEND: A WESTERN TRIBUTE
EXCELLENT BOOK FOR JOHN WAYNE FANS..THOUGHT I KNEW EVERYTHING ABOUT JOHN WAYNE UNTIL I READ THIS BOOK..IN THIS BOOKHIS CO-STARS TALK ABOUT JOHN WAYNE, HIS MOVIES, AND WHAT HE DID OUTSIDE OF HIS MOVIES.

Beautiful Book
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.

John Wayne/There Rode A Legend
It is now my favorite book on the life of John Wayne.Lots of photos I had not previously seen.Great coverage of his entire life with details of his ranch and cattle.A must have for any John Wayne fan.

Must own for any Duke Fan
This book is a must own for any Duke fan. Most books about John Wayne cover the more well known parts of his life such as acting and public notoriety. And this book does that also. But this book goes far beyond that and covers his life in many other aspects such as his raching/farming/feedlot career. It talks about things such as John Wayne memorabilia, John Wayne comics, and has a heart felt introduction by one of his most famous co-stars; Maureen O'hara. I could go on and on about this great book, but to sum it up, you could just quote me as saying that this is the best John Wayne book available today!John Wayne ... There Rode a Legend: A Western Tribute

we rode with him
All around the world, for decades, millions of dreamers have rode in magnificent landscapes with a man that everyone would have had as a friend. But when the red light of the camera has been switched off, when the dream vanished, there was a man that we couldn't meet. We can meet him now, thirty years after his death, and we can do it in his world, his country. In the first part of this book, that I've found the most interesting, I could take a look on the life of Marrion Morrison and see him with his family and friends. In the other chapters I could see the Duke in action and it seemed to me that he blinked from a movie poster. I loved every page of this book, can you believe? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

A Beautiful Book
I ordered this book afteer seeing it in Williams, Arizona.My husband is a great fan of John Wayne and the story and pictures were so enjoyable.I find him looking at it all the time.

The Complete Films ofJohn Wayne
One of the best books on John Wayne films that I have ever
seen. I already own a softback copy and intend on purchasing
a hardback copy. I would recommend this to any serious John
Wayne Collector. It gives you a complete history of all the
films with a list of actors and a short bio of the film with
some pictures.

Below-average "Films of . . ." book
Aside from the illustrations, I don't find much to recommend this book.There are no commentaries about the making of Wayne's films, no discussion of Wayne's working methods, no critical analysis, and nothing about thefilms' financial impact in the theaters.No character names are includedin the cast lists, so they are basically useless in finding out who playedwho.Much of the information is inacturate.In the introduction theauthors state that in his early days Wayne appeared in several Ham Hamiltoncomedies, but no such films appear in the main body of the book (in fact,I've never heard of a screen comedian named Ham Hamilton, although therewas an animator by that name working for Walt Disney at the time).Theplot synopis to many of the films are incorrect, listing wrong characternames and describing incidents that don't happen in the film.And I'mstill trying to figure out why Ward Bond is listed twice in the cast listof DAKOTA.There's a really great blooper in the write-up to CHISUM: Theauthors state that the true-life characters of Pat Garrett and Billy theKid are included in the story and that Garrett is gunned down by Billy! Say what? (No, this doesn't actually occur in the film.)Oh, yes, ifthis book is the "complete" films of John Wayne, then why isn'tCOLLEGE COACH (1933) included?

My final verdict: Skip this book and seekout a copy of Allen Eyles' far superior (and, unfortunately, nowout-of-print) book JOHN WAYNE AND THE MOVIES (re-issued as simply JOHNWAYNE).

Great book plenty of information
If you are looking for John Wayne films this is the book to have. It tells what the film is about, who also starred in and what year it was made. It also has plenty of photos to help you recognize what movie it is and if itis the one you are looking for. The book has some interesting facts aboutsome of the movies.

Indespensable to the serious collector of Wayne films...
The real testimony to the value of a resource is whether it occupies eternal space on your shelf, gathering dust, or if it becomes so worn out that it bears replacement.I have dogearred, destroyed, or otherwise "used up" two complete paperback copies of TCFOJW over the past twelve years since it first appeared.It was not until the last replacement that I finally relinquished and went to a hardback copy. This book is an indespensable (if not exhaustive) resource for any serious John Wayne film buff.My only complaints (and, subsequently, suggestions for future revisions) are that the cast and tech lists are not complete; and that Wayne's appearences on radio and television are not documented.Another helpful feature would be to show which films are available in video and letterbox formats. You need this book ... Read more

Product Description
During a long movie career, John Wayne defined the role of the cowboy and soldier, the gruff man of decency, the hero who prevailed when the chips were down. But who was he, really? Based on exhaustive research, historian Randy Roberts provides the first substantive, serious view of this contradictory private and public American icon. 64 photos . ... Read more

Customer Reviews (24)

Couldn't put it down until I was finished
I didnt really expect to really like this book.Being a devout John Wayne fan I was taken back by how good it was.I could't put it down until I was finish reading it.It the the best book I have ever read about John Wayne.I have let other people borrow it but I always make sure I get it back.It sits on my bear coffee table in my den along with my movies of John Ford book next to it.I am ready to read it again.It tells about all the people who acted along with John Wayne and how they were in real life, as well as John Waynes life from birth until death.The men who wrote this book spent years getting all their information together and making sure it was correct.I would suggest this book to anyone who loves the Duke.The Title says it all!

"The Duke" who was a king
Roberts and Olson have penned a comprehensive, definitive biography of an actor who was literally "larger than life" in his own time and whose name has become a synonym for a man who, in the vernacular of many of his fans, "don't take nothin' off nobody."

And this isn't to denigrate either John Wayne or those who were his devoted followers -- who still watch "Stagecoach" or "Sands of Iwo Jima" or "The Searchers" on DVD from Amazon or on a satellite Western channel. John Wayne, who started life as Robert Michael Morrison, then at age five lost his first name to the baby brother his mother favored, and became "Marion," was in his career more than just "an American"; to so many of us, he WAS America. He was big and sprawling and loud and swaggering, with a hard fist and a fast gun for the bad guys -- but a soft inner core for those needing his help, and an unswerving belief that the good guys would, by gosh, win in the end, or he'd know the reason why, Pilgrim!

"John Wayne: American" tells us of his Iowa boyhood, which morphed into a California one at a young age; of his tetchy, impossible-to-please mother, and his easy-going, loving, poor provider father who jumped from job to job and state to state, trying and usually failing to raise his family higher than the just-above-subsistence level.

Young Marion, who gladly surrendered his female-sounding first name when neighborhood firefighters started calling him "Duke" after the family dog that waited at the firehouse for him to return from school each day, was a hard worker by nature, smart and resourceful, an honor roll student and class leader in high school. He went off to college, forced by the family's poverty to work his way through by waiting tables and washing dishes for his fellow students. But Hollywood beckoned. He got a job hauling properties around sets, more than one director noticed the tall, good-looking young man who moved with such graceful strength -- and ultimately he got his first starring role in "The Big Trail," a Raoul Walsh Western.

John Wayne, who was given that name for the film and kept it until his death, worked his way through the 1930s in a series of B-Westerns, struggling to support his wife and growing family (four children). Finally, in 1939, he got his big break in "Stagecoach," and was on the road to becoming America's chief cinematic he-man and idol.

The authors tell of how Wayne never served in World War II, despite many of his fellow actors doing so; of how he felt life-long guilt about it, and of how this may have fueled his anti-Communist, conservative political views of later years. But Roberts and Olson do not brand Wayne a "draft dodger" as a few less-sympathetic biographers have; they demonstrate how the reasons for his non-service were complex and not easily labeled.

John Wayne's glory years of the 1950s and 1960s are chronicled. They were the years during which he became an American icon, mostly in Westerns but also in some other notable films such as "The Quiet Man." Finally in 1970 The Duke achieved his long-time goal when he was named Best Actor for the Western with comedy overtones, "True Grit."

As his film career thrived, Wayne's three marriages each crashed and burned, leaving him with lifelong guilt for the end of the first, bitterness toward his second wife, and regrets about his third divorce from Pilar Wayne, the mother of his three younger children (he fathered seven in all).

Finally John Wayne's physical decline began, and the authors tell us in detail of how his magnificent, long-abused body finally succumbed to cancer in 1979 when he was 72 years old.

The book gives us a fascinating, illuminating look at an American who was indeed an icon; who was smart, fun-loving, compassionate; but who also could not stand pettiness, had no patience with what nowadays would be called "nuances," and who believed that almost anything could be achieved by Americans by pushing ahead and overcoming all obstacles. One wonders what Wayne would think of our country's current situation, were he alive to see it.

This is an excellent portrait of an unforgettable man. It's a long read, but a fascinating one.

The Duke...
John Wayne wasn't the biggest movie star to me as a boy growing up in the 1960's and 70's.He was the *only* movie star.He was THE cowboy, THE soldier, THE sailor, and THE marine.He was America's biggest hero.A discussion of movies couldn't occur without John Wayne front and center. As adolescent boys, with an air of expertise, we'd dissect his performances with the gravity usually reserved for sports legends.Thirty years later, my tastes have broadened a bit, but with a nostalgic pull I still imagine John Wayne as the ultimate expression of American manhood.Call me a relic, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a man in my age group who doesn't.

John Wayne: American by Roberts and Olson, however, exposes more of Wayne's life than that to which a young boy was privy.Though the authors clearly admire Wayne, they do not hide his weaknesses.Wayne was a problematic husband, a heavy drinker and smoker, and prone to impolitic outbursts.He chose career over family, his friends over his marriages, and showed no real desire to change.Yet, Wayne was a consummate professional, a deft actor, a loyal friend, a driven businessman - he was an American icon.Great men have great flaws and, as Roberts and Olson make clear, Marion Morrison was no exception.

A quick pace, capable writing, and a larger-than-life subject make this biography well worth reading.I was inspired to revisit Wayne's filmography, sampling movies as far back as The Big Trail (1930) and my all-time favorites, Sands of Iwo Jima, The Searchers, and True Grit. No actor before or since has reached the institutional status of John Wayne. And, with American popular culture forever changed, no one likely ever will.4+ stars.

Outstanding Achievement
A few years back I reviewed an inferior book on John Wayne and lamented publically why one of the greatest Hollywood stars had never received proper biographical attention.To my delight, a helpful reader wrote in and recommended this book so strongly that I rushed out and bought it.I'm no conservative by any means, and this book is very upfront about its conservative politics, but I can recommend it without question to anyone, no matter what their political stripe.

In fact to me it seems only the gung-ho preface really makes a case for conservatism.You could read the whole book without detecting an ideological message of any sort.It's puzzling.In fact, I had a moment of liberal guilt when I imagined a scenario in which authors Roberts and Olson constructed a well-nigh perfect biography, then perhaps failed to find a regular publisher, resorting only at the end to hooking up with a conservative press that required them to concoct a flag-waving preface.Is it really true, as they claimed, that a liberal cultural elite has "marginalized John Wayne, the brightest star in the pop culture firmament"?Gee, I hope not!Olson and Roberts go the whole distance with Wayne, showing how he responded to the shifting cultural changes in the US, showing for example how Wayne turned against Jane Fonda when she went to Hanoi, but forgave her only a few years later, going so far as to bestow her the Golden Apple Award voted her by the Foreign Press Association.So he was never a cultural monolith and was often capable of surprising turns, both ideologically as well as on the screen.

Roberts and Olson give us a man bafflingly devoted to John Ford, who seemed to think he had the right to abuse the Duke just because he had discovered him way back when.There was something a little masochistic going on in John Wayne's soul, he seemed not only to suffer but to welcome Ford's abuse, losing countless poker games to him, never once letting the old man know he was acting the fool.The Ford-Wayne relationship has been covered dozens of times, of course, but Roberts and Olson make it new all over again, with a savvy combination of candid interviews and trenchant analysis.They shine a powerful light on all aspects of Duke's career, from his three marriages to his guilt over his deferment during World War II to his slump in the late 1950s, a period when it seemed he just didn't care any more.Struggles with studio bosses, with critics and audiences, Everything looks brand new again under this cool, steady, biographical focus.They don't male Wayne a plaster saint; at the same time, the multidimensional profiling gives us the illusion of a 360 degree pan, as though we could reach out and touch the man.

I saw only one little section that left a bad taste; in their section on the production of Hondo, they see fit to carve up poor Geraldine Page like few actresses have ever been carved up.According to Roberts and Olson (largely following the memories of Mary St. John, Wayne's personal secretary), Page slept around, drank heavily, smelled like nothing on earth--and she was a liberal too of course.In this account Page was so blowsy "even Ward Bond wouldn't take advantage of her availability."After burning her at the stake for four pages. suddenly the authors switch to Page's point of view in a personal interview which reveals her in a bizarrely different light, as a charming, affectionate, sober, insightful witness.Roberts and Olson, have you treated the late Geraldine Page with the good faith anybody deserves?No, I think not--one shoddy episode in what is otherwise a biographical triumph,

LOUSY TITLE, EXCELLENT BIOGRAPHY
I'm just going to sign on to what a lot of other folks said.I saw this title at the library and was actually somewhat turned off, thinking it was some kind of right wing, hearts and flowers trip through the city of rose-colored glasses, some kind of super patriotic fluff.

Well, it's nothing like that.They did this book a serious disservice by not giving it a more descriptive title.This is a really excellent biography.I just thought in the beginning I'd cherry pick a few parts I really wanted to read about, just zero in on the movies I really like (Like "Rio Bravo").Then it began to dawn on me.This guy is in a TON of movies I really, really like.The sheer magnitude of the excellence of his output eventually became kind of overwhelming and I realized i should just read the whole damn thing, cover to cover.

I don't know about anyone else but I think you're on shakey ground reading about someone whose work you immensely enjoy.The danger is finding out you don't particularly like the person behind the image and thereby damaging your ability to enjoy their work anymore.And, presto, you've deprived your life of a significant joy.

That's not an issue with this guy.He's totally likeable.Having met a few famous people I remember being delighted when I met someone back in the eighties who'd met john wayne and talked about how welcoming he was toward the public.then somewhere I read more about that aspect of his character--once he was on a movie shoot at some crappy restaurant at four in the morning preparing to drive out to the movie set and he was approached by a waitress who worked there and was a fan.He actually saw her coming, stood up to greet her, then stood amiably chatting with her for TWENTY MINUTES while his breakfast got cold.He was like that.That's the quality of individual we're talking about here.Movie career and acting bullsh-t aside, this was a really excellent human being.

As a liberal person i always find it somewhat disconcerting to realize conservatives are often better human beings when encountered in the one-on-one.I have no clue as to why.

Anyway, the waitress story I just told was from another source, I just use it to illustrate what this guy was like.But there's a lot more here than just john wayne, it brings to life his best buddy, ward bond, john ford (arguably Hollywood's most gifted director, who "made" wayne what he was and was an assho--e but a genius, and who was my fellow democrat naturally) and howard hawks, almost as gifted as ford but a really good guy (a damn republican naturally).

this is just a very, very entertaining read.If you're like me and are willing to freely admit the freaking obvious, that john wayne was clearly the greatest movie star in American history, give this a chance.

I predict you won't regret that you did.Good luck, pilgrim. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (8)

My Dad Loved This Book
My father loves John Wayne.He has almost all his movies and he enjoyed this book about him.

a wonderful read
What a wonderful and insightful book this is. My husband and I truly enjoyed all the details and great photos. I highly recommend this book to all John Wayne fans, even if you don't know you are one!

A great buy!
I ordered this book for my husband who has always liked John Wayne and is particularly interested with the history of such favorites.I was very happy with this purchase and delighted to get it for him for Christmas.

Wonderfully Accurate
The IMDB has it's own inaccuracies.I found the information in this book to be quit accurate and interesting.Because of in depth research that was obviously done, this attention grabbing book gives you details about John Wayne's life that you might not read anywhere else.I suggest that if you are a John Wayne fan, you read the book for yourself.

Not worth it.
This book was a big, big, and I do mean big disappointment, the inaccuracies are numerous. And what's more is that most of them could have been caught and corrected had they indeed done some research just on IMDB alone. So pass this one by and don't look back. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

John Wayne
The Life and Times Of John Wayne by David Hanna is a pretty good book. I liked this book because it listed all of the movies and shows John Wayne has ever appeared in. I also liked this book because it did a time line of his life and showed all of the obstacles he had to overcome.
I would recommend this book to people who enjoy western shows and movies. I also think farmers,ranchers and cow tenders would enjoy this book.
The book has a section listing quotes,and one of my favorites is,"I'm 53 years old and 6'4,I've had three wives,five children and three grandchildren.I love good whisky.I still don't understand women, and i don't think there is any man who does." ... Read more

Product Description
This biography of legendary Hollywood film actor John Wayne has been written by his wife of 25 years. It describes his acting career, his three marriages, his relationships with his children, his political views and his friendships with such stars as Bogart and Bacall, Henry Fonda and John Ford. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Great service
Received the book in record time and it was in good condition.Enjoy the great service!Thanks, Rayla D.

Great book, good info
I would recommend the book to any JW fan, lots of good info and details on the man, the myth and the legend.

John WayneMy Life With The Duke
I bought this as a Gift for my Husband,he's not one to read very much, but he reads this after he give out work.

My Life With the Duke by Pilar Wayne
This book gives you a real insight into the sort of life an actor OR actress (as the case may be) lives (in tinsel town) and how fame and fortune can change them & their Family lifes in a very fickled industry,very informative and I would recommend this book to any of the Dukes die hard fans out there. ... Read more

Product Description
John Wayne - An American Icon is the biography of John Wayne, an iconic Academy Award-winning American film actor. John Wayne epitomized ruggedly individualistic masculinity, and has become an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive voice, walk and enormous physical presence. He was also known for his conservative political views and his support in the 1950s for anti-communist positions. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Wayne thirteenth among the Greatest Male Stars of All Time. His career began in silent movies in the 1920s and he was a major star from the 1940s to the 1970s. He is closely associated with Westerns and war movies, but he also made a wide range of films from various genres - biographies, romantic comedies, police dramas, and more. John Wayne - An American Icon is highly recommended for those interested in reading more about this popular film actor. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

General Info
This is a very general review of John Wayne 's Life and career. It is worth the price I paid for it. I was looking for a book that had More information. But all in all it had good information init.

John Wayne 101
A poor attempt to write a public domain record of the life and history of John Wayne.I bought this book thinking it was a new collaboration or information about John Wayne that we hadn't seen before.But what was published was a 50 page work of garbage copies from some good and bad sources.Some of the references/footnotes are from inaccurate sources, some are even taken from the error filled IMDB site.To top it off they state they are using a public domain photo of Duke and the photo is horribly copies and printed on the front cover.The whole book looks as if it was written by a 1st Grader.it's not worth the paper it is printed on.John Wayne is my hero but this book is an insult to his name. ... Read more

Product Description
More than two decades after his death, John Wayne is still America's favorite movie star. He has become a cultural icon whose stature seems to grow with the passage of time. In this illuminating biography, Ronald L. Davis focuses on Wayne's human side, portraying a complex personality defined by frailty and insecurity as well as by courage and strength. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

The Dark Duke : Feo, Fuerte y Formal.
Author Ronald L. Davis has given us a very informative, easy to read biography of a surprisingly complex, some would say tortured soul. All the highlights are there, Duke's less than perfect childhood, his early days as a prop man for Fox Film, Duke's first big movie made in 1930, "The Big Trail", a critical success but box office failure. Then the hungry decade where Wayne honed his skills and waited for his "time" to come.

It came in 1939 when John Ford chose Duke to star in the ground breaking "Stage Coach". Wayne and Ford then had more than 25 years of hit movies, all these classics The Searchers, The Quiet Man, The cavalry trilogy etc. are mentioned in the book.

Author Davis does not forget to explore Duke's three marriages, his loving but sometimes stormy relationships with his seven children and several high-profile affairs, particularly one with Marlene Dietrich that lasted for over three years.

Wayne's last decade is also fully explored, his Oscar winning role in True Grit, the poignant last movie, The Shootist, where his characters' struggle with cancer reflected his real life situation.

Fully recommended.

A well done look at the Duke
His friends & fans simply call him Duke.

More than 20 yrs. after his death he is still coming in 1st or 2nd in polls askings Americans who their favorite actor is.

Why is this?

Come on, he's dead already!

Beginning in 1930 with THE BIG TRAIL & ending in 1976 with THE SHOOTIST, DUKE has been bigger than life, a symbol to the world of the ruggedness, tough independence, personal conviction, & courage that make up the American character.

I love him not just because he was a great actor, but because he played roles that showed us an America to be proud of. He was the type of guy you wouldn't mind sitting with in a bar for a few drinks &, definitely, you'd love him at your back in a fight!

The author of this book will help you understand & appreciate John Wayne the way I & millions the world over do.

You will never look at John Wayne, the actor & the man, in the same way ever again.

He is my favorite American Actor of all time, and, before I sold the collection a couple of years ago, I owned nearly all his films on Video.

Not the best book out there, but still informative.

A good look at John Wayne without the scholarly commitment
This biography succeeds in its evenhanded portrayal of John Wayne.No doubt some will criticize it because Davis doesn't spend his time eschewing Wayne's politically incorrect opinions, but neither does the author lionizeWayne the man.What you have left is a concise and readable 400 pagebiography that covers all the movies and all the wives.Davis gives hisopinions as to why the Wayne legend still survives, and what his fellowactors thought of him way back when.

Interesting is the story behind themaking of the ALAMO, a film he produced, directed and starred in, thesubsequent Oscar campaign, and the aftermath.Also interesting is Wayne'srelationship with director John Ford, whom he loved, and theirdisagreements.

Outstanding
Though very in-depth in explaining each movie John Wayne appeared, the book lacks somewhat in explaining who John Wayne was.In comparison, Donald Dewey's recent biography of Jimmy Stewart gives the reader a moredetailed examination of Stewart than Ronald Davis does of Wayne.RonaldDavis also relies too much on the self-centered Pilar Wayne, the third Mrs.John Wayne, for anectdotal information.Davis's use of interviews withHarry Carey, Jr. are quite valuable and illuminating.It's a shame thatDavis didn't thoroughly interview other actors who shared the screen withDuke, including Ron Howard, about whom Duke thought highly or Kim Darby(Mattie in True Grit), who didn't like the Duke (remember, True Grit wasfilmed in 1968).Mr. Davis does an excellent job explaining Duke Wayne'sdesert years in the thirties doing one-reel westerns.One has to admireWayne's persistance.One note Pilar Wayne reveals through Ronald Davisthat puts Wayne in a very bad light and has changed my personal viewstoward him to the strongly negative, was Duke Wayne's insistance that apregnant Pilar get an abortion.The baby was inconvenient asDuke was inthe divorce court with number two wife Chata in a highly charged divorcebattle.The baby was killed but Duke Wayne received a fairly good divorcesettlement.A conservative icon, when the chips were down, was capable ofa selfish, dishonest, sordid, dirty act.The Duke was a great actor andicon but was not a good person.He was not a great American.

--DerekLeaberry ... Read more

Product Description
In a career of more than fifty years—spanning the Golden Era from 1926 to 1976—Hollywood icon John Wayne created a treasure trove of movies. Today, scarcely an hour goes by without one of them appearing on television somewhere in the world. With most of the Wayne films available for his fans today, just a few of them remain unavailable in this era of remastered miracles. Of all the movies he made beyond the 1939 Stagecoach age, only two have been kept from the public: Island in the Sky and The High and the Might.
These two aerial films were made and released in the mid-1950s when the John Wayne cowboy and war-hero box-office phenomenon was reaching its zenith. His starring performances in both are legendary, even if the films are seldom seen. Both were produced by Wayne-Fellows, Wayne's independent film production company, and directed by William A. Wellman, and both were based on novels by Ernest K. Gann, a veteran pilot of distinction who oversaw the screenplays and was technical adviser on the films. William H. Clothier, the aerial cameraman on both films, as he was on many John Wayne films, was sometimes referred to as "Wayne's Cameraman."
Many reasons have been suggested for why the two films have been unavailable until the summer of 2005, from the thought that the original films were damaged and the copies were not good enough for additional distribution to the theory that they have been withheld for a future grand release. Some have said that when Wayne commented late in his life that he hoped people remembered perhaps six of his best pictures and forgot the rest, he may have had Island in the Sky and The High and the Might in mind. Whatever the reasons may be, The Lost Films of John Wayne honors his work in both films and serves as a loving portrayal of some of the lesser-known images he left behind. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A 'must' for any definitive film holding strong in John Wayne's history, biography and productions.
Hollywood icon John Wayne's career spanned from 1926-76 and produced numerous movies, so you'd think most of them would have received much attention by now - but The Lost Films of John Wayne demonstrates there's a number which remain unavailable with only two kept from the public. These were released in the mid-1950s and based on novels by Ernest K. Gann, and are finally celebrated here, in a coverage which provides close inspection of the two movies and the reason why they were suppressed until the summer of 2005. A 'must' for any definitive film holding strong in John Wayne's history, biography and productions.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch ... Read more

Product Description
Decades after his death, annual Gallop polls reveal that Marion Morrison is still firmly implanted among the top-ten favorite motion picture celebrities and American heroes. Most of us know this box office star as John Wayne. This comprehensive volume covers his expansive film career, from 1926 to 1976.

Listed in alphabetical order are entries on films such as Angel and the Badman and Noah's Ark that exemplify the more than 170 films that the actor worked on. Each entry includes the film's date, run time, cast and crew credits, reviews, and a synopsis. Also under each entry is a special section devoted to rare information and interesting details such as where the productions were shot, budgets, costs, salaries, box-office performance, alternate casting and what competition existed for the moviegoer audience. Also included in this reference work are over 650 capsule biographies of the talent that shared the screen with the actor and worked on the productions, and over 800 contemporary reviews and commentary from such diverse sources as The New York Times, Hollywood Reporter, and Life Magazine. There is a series of five helpful Appendices: Appendix A lists films by order of their release dates; Appendix B lists Wayne's fellow actors and colleagues and tells under which entry the relevant capsule biography may be located; Appendix C offers specific review information for the films; Appendix D provides facts on the biggest box office films; and Appendix E details the most popular films on television. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Superb John Wayne book
Where has this book been? One of the most comprehensive books on the Duke I've been able to add to my collection. Almost reads like a novel as there are so many behind the scenes tidbits like how much the Duke was paid for each picture, who the co-stars were and what happened to those actors later in their careers.
More good info on the Duke and Hollywood pictures than any other book I've come across, a must if you are a John Wayne fan!

Film Fan Favorite
An amazingly detailed and comprehensive guide to John Wayne's films. If you're a Wayne (or film fan) this is a must for your collection. Mr. Landesman has outdone himself with the amount of previously unavailable information in this book. Hope to see more from this informative author. ... Read more

Product Description

A Logical, Proven Framework for Understanding the Economic Value of Human Resources Investments

• How to choose Human Resources investments that deliver optimal strategic value—and eliminate those that don’t
• Best-practice metrics and analysis techniques for talent management, performance management, health and wellness programs, and much more

Investing in People introduces a breakthrough approach to Human Resources (HR) measurement that systematically aligns HR investments with organizational goals and helps make HR the true strategic partner it needs to be. Wayne F. Cascio and John W. Boudreau show exactly how to choose, implement, and use metrics to improve decision-making, optimize organizational effectiveness, and maximize the value of HR investments.

You’ll master crucial foundational principles such as risk, return, and economies of scale—and use them to evaluate investments objectively in everything from work/life programs to training. Cascio and Boudreau also introduce powerful ways to integrate HR with enterprise strategy and budgeting and for gaining commitment from business leaders outside the HR function.

If you truly want “a seat at the table”—or if you want to keep the one you have—you’ll find this book utterly indispensable.

Free software available online

You don’t need to be a math wizard to get results from Investing in People! Visit www.shrm.org/publications/books to access software that automates virtually all of this book’s key formulas and calculations.

Foreword xi

Acknowledgments xiii

About the Authors xiv

Preface xv

Plan for the Book xvii

Chapter 1: Making HR Measurement Strategic 1

Chapter 2: Analytical Foundations of HR Measurement 21

Chapter 3: The Hidden Costs of Absenteeism 43

Chapter 4: The High Cost of Employee Separations 67

Chapter 5: Employee Health, Wellness, and Welfare 99

Chapter 6: Employee Attitudes and Engagement 125

Chapter 7: Financial Effects of Work-Life Programs 151

Chapter 8: Staffing Utility: The Concept and Its Measurement 171

Chapter 9: The Economic Value of Job Performance 195

Chapter 10: The Payoff from Enhanced Selection 223

Chapter 11: Costs and Benefits of HR Development Programs 245

Chapter 12: Talent-Investment Analysis: Catalyst for Change 271

Appendix A: The Taylor-Russell Tables 285

Appendix B: The Naylor-Shine Table for Determining the Increase in Mean Criterion Score Obtained by Using a Selection Device 297

Index 309

Amazon.com Review
Susan R. Meisinger on Investing in People: Financial Impact of Human Resource Initiatives

"If you can't measure it, you can't manage it."

It's a lesson I learned more than twenty-five years ago, as a young manager, from one of the most effective executives I've ever worked with. More importantly, I also learned that "measuring it" wasn't enough. What's measured, why it's measured, and how the measurement is used to drive outcomes are what really matters.

As the human resource (HR) profession has continued to evolve beyond transactional responsibilities, many HR professionals have embraced the fact that technology enables them to collect and analyze data efficiently and in ways never before possible. They've discovered that the ability to analyze, measure and articulate HR's contributions to organizational success allow them to make even greater contributions within their organizations. They're using measurement to invest in people.

But many HR professionals aren't agile in the use of measurements to move their businesses forward. Some simply don't know where to begin or are still looking for the "one true way" to measure—or are asking, "just tell me what to measure and what the number should be." They are thirsty for an analytic framework that underlies the whole issue of measurement.

The mission of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is to serve the HR professional and to advance the HR profession. As you read this book, I think you'll find that Investing in People shares this mission. The profession will be well-served by the tools and analytic frameworks for the use of measurement provided by Wayne Cascio and John Boudreau. The observations offered by the authors on how best to "get started" in using measurements to inform and motivate strategic partners to think more clearly about the implications of decisions about talent will also serve the HR profession well. By basing their work on a foundation of solid scholarship and practice gained through their academic and consulting experiences, Wayne and John help to advance HR as a profession that is recognized as a decision science requiring special knowledge and expertise.

—Susan R.Meisinger, SPHR
President and Chief Executive Officer of the Society for Human Resource Management

... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Valuable for HR in large corporations
Investing in People is a valuable, technical resource that is probably most useful to Human Resource professionals in large corporations or labor intensive organizations.The title is a bit misleading in the sense that Investing in People doesn't really tell the average business owner or department head, or HR manager how to invest in people.

What this book does do, quite well, is to explain how the results of specific tactical HR iniatives can be measured.Given the soft, less than practical reputation of some work-life programs, this is a good thing.Its a proactive tool for theHuman Resource Executiveto use to measure the impact of something like a healthy eating program, a quit smoking, or stress reduction program.With this information the HR Executive can measure the impact of a given initiative, and decide rationally whether such a program should be continued or changed.Some of the areas examined are absenteism, health, turnover and work-life programs such as childcare.

This is a fairly technical book.Most HR execs who read it will end up assigningat one or more professionals to the task of applying the information.The workinvolved is not the kind of thing someone does during an odd slow period.To use this book an HR department has to be focused and determined to measure results. The population studied should be significant.For this reason Investing in People will be most useful to an HR exec who needs to study the effects of a program on a large population of employees.

A solid approach to strategic HRM
I think this is an important book for HR management.The authors show the way of moving from the odd notions of how well HR delivers its services to demonstrating hard number measurements of HR value added to the performance of the company.After presenting their argument for making HR Management as strategic as Finance and Marketing, they show you how to become more analytical in your approach to HRM.

They then go through ten subjects showing you how to analyze the financial impact of that topic and then offer you a case study to work through using the tools you were given in that chapter.Then ten topics are:

1) The Hidden Costs of Absenteeism
2) The High Cost of Employee Separations
3) Employee Health, Wellness, and Welfare
4) Employee Attitudes and Engagement
5) Financial Effects of Work-Life Programs
6) Staffing Utility - Concept and Measurement
7) The Economic Value of Job Performance
8) The Payoff from Enhanced Selection (hiring better people using tools)
9) Costs and Benefits of HR Development Programs
10) Talent-Investment Analysis: Catalyst for Change

I found this book to be smart, on point, easy to understand, and think it will be of real use to anyone serious about becoming more analytical about the HR Management function.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI
... Read more

Product Description
A true story of mass murder in a Chicago suburb.

Successful businessman, community benefactor, good friend and neighbor-- and perverted mass murderer.

Over a period of three years, John Wayne Gacy, Jr. sexually tortured and murdered 33 boys. His friends and neighbors in his unassuming Illinois community never suspected a thing. Gacy was a Jekyll-and-Hyde figure, leading an outwardly normal life, but secretly brutalizing dozens of young men in a hidden lair, and concealing their bodies under the floorboards of his suburban home.

Through extensive personal interviews with those who knew Gacy, veteran true-crime scribe Clifford L. Linedecker takes us on a shocking ride through Gacy's life, delving deep into the man's troubled past, recounting his appalling series of murders, and recreating the drama of his trial-- which resulted in his execution by lethal injection in 1994. Gruesome and horrifying, The Man Who Killed Boys reveals stark terror set amid the daily lives of an ordinary community.

Documented with an 8-page photo archive
... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

very interesting book, quick delivery!
Book was in ok shape, considering it was about 20 years old.It came with newspaper clippings about Gacey's execution. That was very neat to see clippings from that long ago. Good story, I enjoyed reading it. Senders delivery time was very fast~

recommended to me
why is this recommended to me?

i'm not a closet case

(like you guys in the illuminati)

scoobydoo
this animal was a sick sick person . it was a book that you just cant believe anyone could do such awfull things to a human being

the man who killed boys
The man who killed boys should be called the man who loved sex with dead boys, because that is ultimately what Gacy was doing with the boys he killed. This book while it does NOT go into much detail concerning Gacy's childhood, is still a very good read. I found the interviews with Gacy's neighbors to be very interesting and they revealed some previously unknown details about the man (or monster?). I sincerely believe that Gacy's bizarre obsession with bodies has its roots way back in the 1950s and quite possibly includes the Peterson-Schuesler murder from that period. I had theopportunity to correspond (verbally and literally) with one of Gacy's childhood friends from that period recently and what he revealed about Gacy's childhood was downright shocking. Hopefully one day the complete TRUTH will come out concerning this man...or monster...

Marginal at Best... Gives the Reader a History Lesson...
This book really was rather disappointing. After reading the back cover and Introduction, the reader is told to expect detailed insight into the details of this near north side Chicago house of horrors and the man who owned it.

While The Man Who Killed Boys offers to the reader a reasonably accurate chronicle of the events that were Gacy's twisted reality, it fails to dig deep below the surface to explore what made him tick. Moreover, it fails to probe Gacy's past as it glosses over his childhood years and spends the majority of the pages reciting murder after murder scene.

The back cover tells us that The Man Who Killed Boys recreates the drama of Gacy's trial... the book spends less precious few pages talking about the actual trial, while it consumes many a page discussing Gacy's jail conditions and other items related to his confinement.

If you want to read a story, this is probably an acceptable choice. But if you're seeking an explanation for or insight into what powers a monster like Gacy, keep moving as you wont find it here. ... Read more

Product Description
A controversy of major proportions has spread through the church. Recent generations bear witness to the rise of "evangelical feminism"—a movement that has had a profound impact on all of life, challenging some of our basic Christian beliefs.

In this new edition of an influential and award-winning best-seller, more than twenty men and women have committed their talents to produce the most thorough response yet to this modern movement. Combining systematic argumentation with popular application, this volume deals with all of the main passages of Scripture brought forward in this controversy regarding gender-based role differences.

Anyone concerned with the fundamental question of the proper relationship between men and women in home, church, and society will want to read this book. New preface included. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (48)

Solid, well-exposited, and very compelling.
This book is a must-have for any one who still sees the so-called "debate" on the role of men and women as important in a post-modern society.Piper and Grudem lay out a very compelling argument for differing roles of men and women within the church while remaining very gracious and humble throughout their exposition and commentary.I especially thought that this book, more than other books, attempts to search for a common theme within the Bible on the subject, and therefore, one is able to see a common message form.Too often, people use one verse or another to justify their positions on just about everything.This book searches for unity within the Bible.
One word of caution - if you are dead set against Piper and Grudem from the beginning, this book won't change your mind.It's not supposed to.Rather, for those who may not see the issue as relevant in our day and age, this book should motivate you to look into the issue more and leave with the opinion that the roles of men and women within ministry are in fact very important, biblically based, and evident within the Bible.

written to defend traditional values rather than biblical truth
I bought this book to help me make up my mind on the subject of women's roles in the Church and in society in general.
The book is a collection of essays from different authors and, for this reason, the quality varies considerably; some chapters are all right, some are blatantly discriminatory, some others are simply silly.
A common denominator seems to be that the authors are guilty of selective literalism, trying to prove a point interpreting a passage as literally as possible, but interpreting another one as allegory where they see fit.
I was curious to see how they explained God's endorsement of women in leadership roles in the Bible, but their answer is really weak and unconvincing.
On the other hand, Evangelical egalitarian scholars have sensible explanations on the verses normally used to exclude women from leadership roles.
To conclude, my impression was that the authors are more concerned about defending traditional American values rather than biblical truth.

Treasure island in a world of commonities
This book is almost a manual for the recovering of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood as well as for the rejection of that which is not Biblical in that matter.
The book has chapters on exegetical and theological Studies, Studies from related disciplines like Church history, biology, psychology, sociology and law and contributions on how to apply and implicate it all in family and church. Every chapter, each written by another evangelical author, is so full of rich information that it gives the impression as if all possible questions have been answered.
The authors orientate themselves from the first to the last page clearly by the Bible and make it very clear what the Bible has to say on the topic. And what they have to say is of immense meaningfulness, provided they are right.
They express their concerns, but they also give the solutions to the problems as far as it is possible. Their concern is for:
the widespread uncertainty and confusion in our culture regarding the complementary differences between masculinity and feminity;
the tragic effects of this confusion in unravelling the fabric of marriage woven by God out of the beautiful and diverse strands of manhood and womanhood;
the increasing promotion given to feminist egalitarism with accompanying distortions or neglect of theglad harmony portrayed in Scripture between the loving, humble leadership of husbands and the intelligent, willing support of that leadership by wives;
the widespread ambivalence regarding the values of motherhood, vocational home-making, and the many ministries historically performed by women;
the growing claims of legitimacy for sexual relationships which have Biblically and historically been considered illicit or perverse;
the upsurge of physical and emotional abuse in the family;
the emergence of roles for men and women in church leadership that do not conform to Biblical teaching but backfire in the crippling of Biblically faithful witness;
the increasing prevalence and acceptance of hermeneutical oddities devised to reinterpret apparently plain meanings of Biblical texts, and behind all this the apparent accommodation of some within the church to the spirit of the age at the expense of winsome, radical Biblical authenticity.

Based on the authorsunderstanding of Biblical teaching, they affirm the following:
Both Adam and Eve were created in God`s image, equal before God as persons and distinct in their manhood and womanhood;
distinctions in masculine and feminine roles are ordained by God as part of the created order, and should find an echo in every human heart;
Adam`s headship in marriage was established by God before the Fall, and was not a result of sin;
the Fall introduced distortions into the relationships between men and women - in the home, the husband`s loving, humble headship tends to be replaced by domination or passivity. The wife`s intelligent, willing submission tends to be replaced by usurpation or servility. - in the church, sin inclines men toward a worldly love of power or an abdication of spiritual responsibility, and inclines women to resist limitations on their roles or to neglect the use of their gifts in appropriate ministries;
the Old Testament, as well as the New Testament, manifests the equally high value and dignity which God attached to the roles of both men and women. Both Old and New Testaments also affirm the principle of male headship in the family and in the covenant community;
redemption in Christ aims at removing the distortions introduced by the curse,- in the family, husbands should forsake harsh or selfish leadership and grow in love and care for their wives, wives should forsake resistance to their husbands` authority and grow in willing, joyful submission to their husbands` leadership, - in the church, redemption in Christ gives men and women an equal share in the blessings of salvation, nevertheless, some governing and teaching roles within the church are restricted to men;
in all of life Christ is the supreme authority and guide for men and women, so that no earthly submission- domestic, religious, or civil - ever implies a mandate to follow a human authority into sin;
in both men and women a heartfelt sense of call to ministry should never be used to set aside Biblical criteria for particular ministries. Rather, Biblical teaching should remain the authority for testing our subjective discernment of God`s will.

The authors are convinced that a denial or neglect of these principles will lead to increasingly destructive consequences in the families, the churches and the culture at large.
Because of the great meaningfulness of these texts and its conclusions, every church man, Christian father and mother and theologian should have this book in his book shelf. Its implications are tremendous.
The book is not easy to read. You have to use a lot of brainwork, apparently notso much to follow the conclusions of the authors but to follow the laborious and pedestrian theories of others which they also disprove. The whole book is a complete workout of the theme that needs no amendment. A fine and necessary work.

Brilliant Exegesis
This book is wonderfully well written and sets the foundation of the church in solid ground.So many world doctrines have crept into the church.Piper and Grudem show brilliantly how worldly values slowly wear away our lives by the influence of the devils attacks through society.This book shows such decisive insight into the Scriptures and really shows that the purpose of a man is to follow Christ and the woman is to support Christ in leading the man; nothing wrong with being in a supportive position and it is our need for control that hinders Christ showing His miracles today.

This is a big book but every page is full of true insight and proof by clear teaching.Evangelical feminism is a huge problem but that word can be deceptive.Each member of Christ has a purpose and role, we are to find that role and jump in and begin to fight.Piper as usual has brought a strong foundation in what is already taught in the Bible but many manipulate for their own corporate mission statement.We should spend less time thinking about what teachings apply to us and obey.

Is this as good as it gets?
The editors of the book, Piper and Grudem, must have expected that people would read only a few select chapters instead of the entire book, for how else can one explain the many contradictions within the one volume?

The singularly most astonishing contradiction is the treatment of the word `ezer ("help") by three different writers: Ortlund writes that a helping role entails subjection and that the woman's role is analogous to that of God's help. Grudem, on the other hand, writes that the word help does not imply anything about rank or authority and the woman's role should not be read as an analogy of God's help; instead the woman should be compared to the "helpful animals," which incidentally reduces her to a link between animals and humans, similarly to the nineteenth century evolutionary biology. Frame cannot decide which one to choose, for although he writes that the woman's submission images God who is not too proud to be our "helper," he writes also that the word "helper" does not signify subordination for God does not submit. (I e-mailed CBMW about this contradiction, asking for a reasonable explanation, but did not hear back from them - which of course should not surprise anyone.)

The confusion continues with Knight's opinion that the first woman failed to ask the man what God had said about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which led to the ruination of the man. Grudem disagrees, for he writes that Peter (1 Pet 3) did not write to the husbands in order for them to tell their wives what God has said, for God expects women themselves to consider his words. Why would it have been any different with Eve?

Whereas Grudem and Piper do not view 1 Tim 2 as an absolute prohibition against all teaching done by women for teaching is such a broad term, and Schreiner agrees that women can teach if the teaching is not considered authoritative, Knight disagrees for he sees the prohibition as an unqualified one which extends to all situations where recognized teaching of the Scriptures is present, including Sunday School classes, small group meetings and couples groups. Moo agrees with Knight when he writes that a principle cannot be separated from behavior wherefore for a woman to teach a man is to void the principle on which Paul bases his argument. The question is, how does Moo's opinion work with Schreiner's concept that a missionary woman can teach a man for the proclamation of the Gospel is not limited to men? Is a non-Christian man not a man? Is the Gospel not part of the Bible?

And how about Dorothy Patterson's acknowledged that the inherent drudgery of homemaking can be avoided only by bathing the mundane tasks with prayer and catching the vision of the divine challenge, while she later exclaims that homemaking is "an overflowing oasis of opportunity" and "a brilliant catalyst to channel creativity and energies into meaningful work"?

Although Weinrich claims Constantinople never based its theology on the woman's assumed inferiority, John Chrysostom, its most illustrious bishop, affirmed the woman's inferiority in his homily on 1 Corinthians. The same sentiment is found also in the writings of Clement of Alexandria two centuries earlier. Both John and Clement were well versed in Aristotle's philosophy, in which the man's rule was based on the assumed lack of reason on the woman's part and her subsequent natural inferiority to the man.

And how about Johnson, who sounds a whole lot more like a Catholic than a Protestant in his statement that the largest part of a theologian's work should consist of examining tradition and that we should assume the church is (or has been) right, unless theological study proves otherwise. How one can know whether study will prove tradition wrong if one assumes it to be right to begin with is of course a question he does not touch upon in his essay. Furthermore, had Johnson lived five hundred years earlier, he would have most likely condemned Luther, for he is of the opinion that the creeds of the church are more important than the views of individuals.

Finally, Grudem's Appendix on Kephale provides questionable proof, for not only does he find his greatest support from pagan writers such as Plato, Philo and Plutarch, his evidence from the Apostolic era is limited to one example: Hermas, in whose Similitudes the phrase "kephale tou oikou" is found. Grudem considers it a perfect example of the usage of kephale in Christian writings, but he omits the fact that the phrase is not found in Greek; it is rather a literal translation of the Hebrew `rosh beeyt. He does not quote any of the other writers from the first five centuries; instead he relies on secondary sources, which are quickly proven erroneous. His final attempt to use the Septuagint as evidence fails, for when every instance of ro'sh is examined it is proven that kephale is not used of leaders, but as a literal translation of the word ro'sh (head), of the extreme end of an object, within the metaphor "head and tail" and with the meaning "to sum up."

I could provide many more examples, but since I have already written them down into a book form, I refer the reader to "When Dogmas Die: The Return of Biblical Equality," available here at Amazon.com.
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