JOHN WAYNE’S AMERICA

One searches in vain for the point of Pulitzer Prize winner Garry Wills’s analysis of Wayne’s films, motives, image and influence on society and politics. But one enjoys the digressions. Though slightly laconic, the author reads his straightforward, journalistic prose in a pleasant baritone that one will enjoy while trying to determine whether this is film criticism, biography or social commentary. Y.R. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: NOV/DEC 97]