I really liked this book especially since I liked all of the westerns that they made together and The Quiet Man. What was extra about this story than others that I have read was the part about Ford and the way he really treated the people he worked with or worked for him. I was really surprised at the big named stars that put up with his abuse besides Wayne. Yes, the westerns were good but did he really need to go through all of the degrading that he did. The author takes you through the westerns that they made and the cast with some back ground on the different people in the cast. I found that all very interesting. Also takes you through their personal lives especially with Wayne’s three marriages with interviews with Pilar. What I also liked was the little tid bit about Wayne’s last movie the “Shootist” having Ron Howard toss the gun as far as he could thinking about his career and what happened to Bruce Dern not working for a while because of the idea of killing John Wayne. Overall I thought this to be a very good book.

Book received from NetGalley.

John Wayne and John Ford were a well-known pair in early American film. Over the course of their careers, they made 20 films together and I have definitely watched most of them. I grew up with a father who was a huge fan of John Wayne's films and there were many Saturdays where he'd go from channel to channel trying to find another of Wayne's films once the one he was watching was finished. The book gives background on both Wayne and Ford's early lives, how they became a part of the Hollywood machine and how they formed their director and actor partnership. Until reading this I had forgotten that Ford had directed The Quiet Man one of the few films I really loved starring John Wayne. I learned quite a few things from this book but won't likely ever give it a re-read.

Wayne and Ford by Nancy Schoenberger

Rating 2 out of 5 stars

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Story Notes

Nancy Schoenberger offers readers a double biography of two of Hollywood most famous men, John Ford and John Wayne, that come across as a bit odd: one minute seemingly biographical and another stating facts one can find available on any movie description site.

I was both dreading and excited to read this book given its subject. Both of the men featured are two of my favorites from movies growing up and I hoped that it would be both fair and informative while also bringing in unbeknownst tidbits from the sets of the movies they worked together. It seems I was to be most disappointed as this book was not as I had hoped. Obviously I knew I would have some bias going in as I was raised on Wayne/Ford movies given that both my grandfathers watched little else and my paternal grandfather greatly resembled John Wayne in my eyes. Saturday mornings at my Grandparents house when I was little and even at home when I was older meant “Saturdays with the Duke”. But I was saddened to find that while Ms. Schoenberger included quite a bit of what happened on the sets, she presented this book with little feeling or focus on the real relationship between the two men. I know she wasn’t able to actually talk to either of them as they are deceased but it seemed to me that she relied more on the letters Dan Ford (John Ford’s son) had in his home and what she had read in other biographies to paint their picture. While this is a good back up for research, I think she could have done better if she had gone about finding more people who had known or worked with them. And her oft referenced insistence that John Ford was a closet homosexual was a bit annoying as it was written in at the oddest spots. While it might have had a bit to do with how John Ford directed the men in his movies I would have rather had her focus her time on Ford’s directive style which was barely acknowledged beyond his tendency to be harsh taskmaster. Ms. Schoenberger should have talked more about his process of making a film rather than frequently discussing how cruel and dictating Ford was all actors – a given for most directors back then as they were entirely responsible to shareholders for how a movie turned out. I could tell she really didn’t like John Ford as a person and it showed in her writing about him. John Wayne on the other hand seemed to be her underdog hero who persevered in spite of everyone being against him. I agree that he had much to prove in a career field so dominated by capable and strong actors, but Ms. Schoenberger also seemed determined to make Wayne out to be a repressed man who just couldn’t win at life or in his career. According to his children, he enjoyed his work and was honored to present the roles he was hired to complete. Wayne felt it was his job to make sure people knew that the characters he portrayed were real, honest, and had to work hard to succeed at life – giving audiences a way to identify. As to Ms. Schenberger’s descriptions of the movies that Ford and Wayne made, I believe this is where her writing could have been the best but fell rather flat. It seemed to me that her descriptions of the story lines and basics of what happened on set came from a movie site. The style of writing changed at these parts of the book, becoming more coldly factual than warm storytelling which made it hard for me to feel like I needed the information to follow the more biographical parts of the book. Granted, I loved these parts as it was fun to see a little “behind the scenes” about the actors involved but it just didn’t gel with the rest of Ms. Schoeberger’s writing. It was because of these “behind the scenes” passages that I gave this book more than one star – the rest of the book didn’t really warrant a higher rating. I believe Ms. Schoenberger needs to work a bit harder on her research to include more references and create a more cohesive book that will help readers want to find out what happens next. I will recommend this book to someone only if they have read all other biographies of Wayne and Ford and would like one more to read. Otherwise I would advise readers to find a more in depth book that offers greater insight into two of Hollywood’s most iconic men.

I received this E-book free of charge from Doubleday Books via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. I will receive no fiscal compensation from either company for this review.

John Wayne and John Ford are legends of American cinema. Both together and apart they made some of the most magnetic films Hollywood had to offer, but it is unlikely they would have reached the heights they did if they hadn't found each other. In a new book Nancy Shoenberger explores the life, work and relationship of these complex, influential men, focusing attention on the way they interpreted and communicated masculinity.

I was drawn to Wayne and Ford because I liked the way Schoenberger handled dual biography in her 2011 tome Furious Love: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and the Marriage of the Century. Here she tackles a less tumultuous, but similarly layered relationship. There's less heat, but plenty of intrigue.

Of the 200 films Wayne made in his long career, only 69 would be westerns, but they were his most significant roles, and mostly due to his work with Ford. Likewise, the director, who even somewhat ironically referred to himself as a maker of westerns approached many genres successfully, but found his greatest success making fantasies of masculinity and honor in the Monument Valley with his greatest star.

Wayne and Ford charts the simultaneously abusive and familial nature of their relationship. Though Ford inspired loyalty in his actors, who felt he gave them the artistic success they craved, he was a harsh and sadistic taskmaster. The director saved the worst of his abuse for Wayne, who always took it without complaint, even when he reached the heights of his success. Nevertheless, their bond was lifelong and both could depend on each other for help throughout their careers, whether or not it was requested.

Schoenberger looks for insight into this unusual relationship by digging into their personal lives and films. As both men often had great control over the way their movies were made, they were often a reflection of who they were. Despite the differences in their personalities and relationships, in their cinematic explorations of love, duty and what it is to be a man, the two are found to have similar values.

While there was not much that was new to me here, having read individual biographies of Wayne and Ford, being able to focus on their bond and films helped me to better understand the influence they had on each other and their public. In Wayne, Ford saw much that he wanted to be, and in a way he resented his manly physicality. The actor may not have understood this, but he was always aware that the director had essentially made his career after a decade of making cowboy flicks for kids and it is possible he never thought to think past that reality.

In the end, John Ford and John Wayne are only two humans, who lived their lives and passed on, and yet it is endlessly compelling to speculate about these complex men. Wayne and Ford is to be relished because it takes great care and enjoyment in that pursuit.

This book is a gem and deserves 5 stars. If you are a fan of the iconic John Ford/John Wayne westerns, then you will enjoy this book, which provides a plot summary of these westerns and places them in a larger context, relating them to American society and the role of men and women in today's society along with America from 1930 to 1979. The book provides a lot of detail about John Ford's movie making style. Ford was a bully and an alcoholic. He did not drink while making a movie and demanded that his film crew do the same. He knelt on an actor's back and broke 1 of his ribs to punish him for coming to work hungover. Henry Fonda punched Ford in the nose during the filming of "Mister Roberts."
The book also explains why Wayne did not serve in WWII. He was about to enlist and told the studio boss, Republic's Herbert Yates. Yates told Wayne that he would sue him for"... every penny that you've got."
Some quotes:
"But he was in many ways still the same old John Ford, chewing one end of a ratty handkerchief to battle his cravings for alcohol, while insisting on a sober cast and crew."
On the possibility of Ford being gay:
"Perhaps Ford's tragedy is that he lived in a time when to have come out as a gay man would have ruined his career, particularly as a man who explored and celebrated masculine heroism."
On John Wayne productions vs. Ford's:
"If John Wayne tended to make propaganda when he was at the helm of a picture, John Ford almost always made art."
John Wayne's 3rd wife Pilar:
"He would become a super patriot for the rest of his life trying to atone for staying at home."
Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday for sending me this ebook.

I finished reading Nancy Schoenberger’s introduction – a well-crafted, passionate account on masculinity from a woman’s perspective, mostly derived through cinematic heroes, such as watching John Wayne westerns, although with the obligatory nods to her father – and immediately turned to my wife stating she had to read this primer. In this world of Wonder Woman and where the glass ceiling is arguably (at least?) scratched, this is the perfect time to hear from a woman on Wayne, who was truly one of those man’s man, like Bogey and Mitchum whose fast-talkin’ wit and sharp muscles fed the ideals of Boomers to Gen X boys nationwide, and John Ford, the man who helped forge Duke’s image.

Like Schoenberger, I grew up on Duke’s film’s and own The Searchers on Blu-Ray for the sole purpose of showing the film to my own boys (full confession: I also have Yojimbo and Hidden Fortress reserved for future viewings as well) but after reading her book I learned that my knowledge only ran as deep as the big hits. Schoenberger goes deeper. Wayne and Ford: The Films, the Friendship and the Forging of an American Hero, Schoenberger avoids presenting a full biography on each man, acknowledging their tales have been told before. Yes, it is impossible to avoid such, but similar to what Bill Shatner recently accomplished in his 2016 recounting of his friendship with Leonard Nimoy in Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man, Schoenberger focuses on the often-contentious working relationship between Duke Wayne and Jack Ford and the nearly twenty films they made together.

More than that, Schoenberger provides critical examinations on many of those films, including the aforementioned Searchers, the Cavalry trilogy (Fort Apache, She Wore A Yellow Ribbon, Rio Grande), Stagecoach, as well as Duke’s directorial debut, The Alamo. Schoenberger ponders the essential morality lesson of these films specifically, as well as Westerns generally, and theorizes on the macho image of Hollywood heroes from the more recent past: Gibson, Schwarzenegger, Willis. What do Westerns teach us, she asks and follows up with why are we missing those lessons today?

Their personal lives are accounted for within. Duke’s failed marriages and eventual cancer diagnosis. The possibility of John Ford’s suppressed homosexuality. She asides into separate projects, most noticeably the final three Westerns Wayne filmed without Ford, yet deliberately avoids other independent projects, most noticeably Rio Bravo, one of Duke’s most referenced films. She shows their relationship is more than mentor-student and truly becomes one of father-and-son.

Wayne and Ford is an excellent round-up and review of the work produced by two of the genre’s best. Ford had his Monument Valley. Wayne his stance, his drawl. Both are missed. Wayne and Ford let’s you remember and learn.

Thanks to NetGalley and Nan A. Talese for the chance to read and review this enjoyable ARC.

I was interested in reading this book on John Wayne and Ford and their films. Having inherited a love of Western movies and John Wayne in particular, and having read a few articles through the years on John Wayne, I felt I knew a bit about him. John Ford was much more an unknown quantity going into it, but the author certainly did her research in this amazing double biography. I came away feeling I knew quite a bit more about both of them, historically as far as their films, and about their personal lives. Almost too much in the case of Ford, as it got rather gritty later on and I mostly read it to learn about The Duke anyway. I would recommend this book to fans of either Wayne or Ford and their films, or those interested in film history. It's certainly something reading about all they endured on locations making those movies. An ARC was provided by NetGalley and the publisher for an unbiased review.

I received a free Kindle copy of Wayne and Ford by Nancy Schoenberger courtesy of Net Galley and Doubleday, the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would post a review to Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and my history book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google Plus pages.

I requested this book as I have been a fan of John Wayne movies and in particular the ones directed by John Ford.  I have not read any biographies on either of them. It is the first book by the Nancy Scnoenberger that I have read.

The subtitle of the book: The Films, The Friendship, and the Forging of an American Hero pretty much describes the detail in the book. That said I felt that the book itself could have been much better. The author's writing style, while okay, is not overly engaging that does not make this a book that one can't walk away from and resume at a later time.

She spends a great deal of time detailing what a pain in the a** John Ford is and how he humiliated Wayne throughout their interactions, but Wayne saw him as a father figure and put up with it. As far as the descriptions of the movies, you would be better off just watching as the author makes most of them sound less interesting than they really are.

My recommendation is to watch the movies and skip the book.

Insightful look at the relationship between John Ford and John Wayne as told through the lens of the movies they made together. A serious, well written biography. Highly Recommended

Wayne and Ford The Films, the Friendship, and the Forging of an American Hero by Nancy Schoenberger
Wayne and Ford: The Films, the Friendship, and the Forging of an American Hero
By:Nancy Schoenberger
Non Fiction
What's it's about:
John Ford and John Wayne were two titans of classic film and made some of the most enduring movies of all time. The genre they defined--the Western--still matters today.
For over twenty years John Ford and John Wayne were a blockbuster Hollywood team, turning out many of the finest Western films ever made. Ford, a son of Irish immigrants known for his black eye patch and for his hard-drinking, brawling masculinity, was renowned for both his craftsmanship and his brutality. John "Duke" Wayne was a mere stagehand and bit player in "B" Westerns, but he was strapping and incredibly handsome, and Ford saw his potential. In 1939 Ford made Wayne a star in Stagecoach, and from there the two men established a close, often turbulent relationship.
Their most productive years saw the release of one iconic film after another: Rio Grande, The Quiet Man, The Searchers, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence. But by 1960, the bond of their friendship had frayed, and Wayne felt he could move beyond his mentor with his first solo project, The Alamo. Few of Wayne's following films would have the brilliance or the cachet of a John Ford Western but, taken collectively, the careers of these two men changed movie making in ways that endure to this day. Despite the decline of the Western in contemporary cinema, its cultural legacy, particularly the type of hero codified by Ford and Wayne--tough, self-reliant, and unafraid to fight but also honorable, trustworthy, and kind--resonates in everything from Star Wars to today's superhero franchises.
Drawing on previously untapped caches of letters and personal documents, Nancy Schoenberger dramatically narrates a complicated, poignant, and iconic friendship, and the lasting legacy of that friendship on American cultur.

My thoughts:
DNF 100%
Sadly I'm DNF it, I just can't get in to the author's writing style at all, funny thing is I was actually hoping to like this book since it was about John Wayne, and I love his movies, grow up watching them with my dad, but the way the author talks about him ,it's like she's never seen any of his movies .It's like she's putting him and the other old Time movie actors down , so I won't be finish it.With that said I would like to.say thinks to NetGalley for at least giving me a chance to give it a try in a change for my honest opinion

Wayne and Ford by Nancy Schoenberger was received direct from the publisher. Who hasn't heard of John Wayne and John Ford from Hollywoods past, when there was a such thing as a non remake or left leaning crap no one wants to watch? Anyone? Buehller? Anyway real, non politically correct men, are few and far between nowadays, and that is bad. Young gentlemen now have sissy boys with manbuns and rompers to lookup to, as opposed to men on horseback cracking wisecracks and taking care of business. If you or someone you buy gifts for likes director John Ford movies or actor John Wayne movies (or both), certainly you cannot go wrong with this book.

4 stars

John Wayne, a beloved actor, director, and American icon, and film director, John Ford together created the classic western movies that continue to cement the image of a tough fighting, but triumphant masculine legacy. Wayne and Ford: The Films, the Friendship, and the Forging of an American Hero might include a misnomer in "friendship." John Ford was brutal to the point of being vicious with his actors while simultaneously wrenching from them their best work. From Wayne and Ford's collaboration comes the vision of the strong American male, capable, independent at the same time honorable.

Ford first noticed the stagehand (Marion Morrison) as the tall, good-looking, and robust Wayne that he would eventually use to star in his classic "Stagecoach." Wayne had the walk and talk of a budding Hollywood star and his magnetic presence filled the screen, though Ford allowed Wayne to mature slowly into the spotlight. Their on-again/off-again relationship would churn out a collection of the western genre over a twenty-year span. John "Duke" Wayne is portrayed generally as he is remembered, even-tempered, kind, and patient, while Ford comes off as a major shock--(I mean, who knew?)--belittling even the beautiful and talented Maureen O'Hara. His abuse didn't stop with the verbal, graduating several times into the physical. If he was remembered as being a hard drinking, eye-patch wearing, often cruel taskmaster, it was because he was. However, Wayne apparently saw the genius and continued to work with him until he split and went off to direct his own picture, "Alamo." Nancy Schoenberger draws on a treasure chest of letters, personal documents, pictures, and interviews to paint the complicated picture of the turbulent relationship between the two.

Wayne, the father, seemed the loving nurturer whereas Ford built a wall between him and his children, as he seemed to do with his "friends," perhaps not entirely unexpected given the information revealed regarding his own childhood.

Read aloud to my husband on a cross-country trip, we often engaged in lively discussion the shocking details of Schoenberger's revelations. At the first opportunity, we rented and viewed "The Shootist" and enjoyed it all the more knowing the details behind the scenes, including the contributions made to the movie by the well-known actors anxious to be involved in what might be Wayne's farewell offering.

This novel was offered as an ARC through NetGalley and Doubleday. We loved the book and now more so The Duke! More than a biography really, an exposé, and recommended to anyone who has ever wondered if what you saw was the real thing. It was.

What a fantastic look into the world of earlier cinema and the biggest names! Loved it!!

Over the span of more than 20 years, John Wayne and John Ford made 14 movies together. Most were westerns, and all of them featured Wayne as a tough but kind heroically masculine figure. A man's man. One of my all-time favorite movies -- The Quiet Man -- is a classic Wayne and Ford movie.

In Wayne and Ford, Nancy Schoenberger presents interesting facts and background on both men, touching on their careers, personal life, health and relationships. I was surprised to learn that it took John Wayne more than 10 years to achieve success as a leading actor. He made a lot of B westerns and serials before finally being cast in more major roles. Ford made a wide variety of movies ranging from military films to academy award winning drama Grapes of Wrath. But Schoenberger points out that Ford always returned to what he loved best -- films for men about being men. Ford loved making westerns despite knowing he would never win awards for them. Ford was passionate about his work, often pushing actors and crew to the breaking point. Schoenberger doesn't try to hide the volatility of Ford's personality. She shares tales of his temper, physical altercations with actors (he even punched Maureen O'Hara in the face for no reason! yikes!), and his sometimes ridiculous expectations.

Each film that Ford and Wayne made together is featured in the book with information on plot, casting and behind-the-scenes facts. I found this information very interesting! There are lots of photos from the movies as well.

My husband is a huge western fan. Movies, television, books ..... if it's set in the Old West, he loves it. Every Christmas I buy him a special western-themed gift. The last few years it's been Gunsmoke memorabilia, but this year I decided on books. I bought him a copy of Tom Clavin's recent book about Dodge City, and also preordered a copy of Wayne and Ford because I know he will absolutely love this book!

After reading this book, I plan to re-watch all of the films that these two cinema legends made together. It's an awesome list of great, classic films! I've seen them all before but now that I know more background details on each film, I know I will enjoy seeing them all again. I can't wait for my husband to get his copy of this book because I know he will enjoy it even more than I did!

This is definitely a great book for any western movie fan! Wayne and Ford is set for release from Doubleday Books in October 2017.

Nancy Schoenberger is the author of several other books including Furious Love: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and the Marriage of the Century.

**I voluntarily read an advance readers copy of this book from Doubleday via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.**

This book is devoted more to deep analysis than to the love of great movies, great actors, and great directors. I did find it interesting, but I have read other film histories that were more gripping.

Yes, Pappy Ford was a jerk. An alcoholic jerk. He treated his actors poorly, held capricious grudges against them for years, and bullied his way through his projects. His movies were artistic accomplishments, however.

John Wayne was one of the all-time favorite actors for many of us. He wasn't necessarily a great actor, but a great performer whose force of personality brought the movies to life.

Ben Johnson does get a well-earned credit in this book as a stuntman who became an actor, and was a genuine good old boy as well as a superb horseman. He didn't have to take abuse from Pappy, and let Ford know it. By the way, Johnson was an actual cowboy who roped in rodeos on the horse you see him riding in "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" and other classic westerns. Steel was a top ride until he got to tossing his head too much, due to all the different riders, most of whom couldn't ride their way out of a hat. That behavior ruined him for film work as well as rodeos.

John Ford did make a point of following cavalry march protocols in "Yellow Ribbon." It's never explained, but you see the troops get down and lead their horses, which was part of the protocol for long rides. The men got to loosen up a little and get some circulation back in their backsides, while the horses got a break from the weight and got some circulation back in their backs. The rain storm was pure serendipity, and the cinematographer wanted to stop filming when the weather turned, but Ford told him to keep shooting, and the result was a fantastic scene.