Duke: We're Glad We Knew You: John Wayne's Friends and Colleagues Remember His Remarkable Life

One of the reasons Wayne was so popular was that he symbolized everything America wanted to be; strong ,brave,loyal,savvy and honest.His character was a fighter who never backed down when he knew he was right. He was a role model to millions, his screen actions were a roadmap to manhood. That was John Wayne,Icon. But there was another side to Wayne. He was a real man,flesh and blood, and he had real thoughts and feelings,strengths and weaknesses. He was as brave as his larger-than-life screen persona in his real life,such as in the way he faced up to cancer, and very very human.This is John Wayne,the Man. This book does an excellent job of showing both sides of the John Wayne coin,Man and Icon. It does it with stories told by people who really knew him. After reading this book you actually feel like you've had a bull session with Duke's friends and co-workers. It's got a very amiable feel to it. The book also reminds me of Studs Terkel's books. Studs would just turn on a tape recorder and let his subjects pour their hearts out. The author here uses a similar approach. Each story is like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle and at the end of the book you can put all the pieces together to get a clear picture of the Duke. After I finished reading, I wished I had known him too.

Critics complain that he was a Johnny-One Note who played the same person over & over, & wasn't very good at it. I say this is Baloney.The annecdotes & observations of the people who lived & worked with him that are found in this book show that he was able to do so much, physically, & emotionally with the characters he played.You come away with a better sense of why you cheered, laughed, & cried under the spell of his performances. Whether you agreed or disagreed with the actions of his character, you still cared for him & cared about what happened to himHis friends, family, & co-workers loved & admired him & it shows very clearly in this wonderful book.Sure, he drank, & smoked, & was a staunch anti-commie, but he was also a loyal, funny, kind & gentle family man who worked hard to perfect his craft & cared about his co-workers.Read this book & understand.

"Duke We're Glad We Knew You" is an exellent book. People such as Harry Carey Jr., Ben Johnson, Lee Aaker, John Wayne's stepsister, and many more write of when they knew Duke.The foreward is written by Ronald Regan who knew Wayne personally. Author, Herb Fagen. interviewed many of them personally. The book has stories about how Wayne first got started in acting, his childhood,his marriages, his movies, and his death. I have really enjoyed this book.

This is a great book about the life of John Wayne. I think that any fan of his will be pleased with the way it was written. One of the best books written about his life.

The book "Duke We're Glad We Knew" was one of the better movie star biographies I have read in a long time. This was because of the way the book was written which consisted mainly of reminiscences of people who knew and actually worked with John Wayne such as Harry Carey, Jr or Ben Johnson. I would have liked to seen some reminiscences by some of Wayne's family members as well as someone like Maureen O'Hara who starred in so many of Wayne's films. However, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is a John Wayne fan!!