Will Rogers: His Life and Times (An American Heritage Biography)

This book is the best biography I have ever read, and I am a first wave baby boomer who knew very little about Will Rogers before finding a poor copy at a garage sale a few years ago. I was instantly drawn into the amazing but true life he lived to the fullest. I agree 100% with the first reviewer about the book. Will Rogers is now on my short list of people I would love to have met, and also to have as a pal. The book has interesting photos scattered throughout, and makes you wish we had someone today like Will to tell us the truth about things happening in Washington. He lampooned all politicians, but they all loved it because of the gentle way he did it. He could entertain anyone with his words, cowboy skills, and his honest demeanor. He also was quite an adventurer in the golden age of air exploration, and later was a natural at polo. Just read it. It is exceptional, particularly because it is true.

This book is a joy to read not only because of its subject, Will Rogers, but also because of the manner in which his story is told. Most biographies that I have read have struck me as somewhat impersonal. That is to say: the authors told their stories as an outsider might see them with few, if any, intimate details. But this biography is different, and that makes it rather extraordinary and quite unique. As I was reading the book, for example, particularly in the early chapters, those concerning Will's family history and early life, I sensed that this author truly loved the man about whom he was writing. (And, I must say, "who wouldn't?") It was almost as if the book had been written by a member of Rogers' own family or by a very close personal friend. The book was that intimate and personal, and I was captivated. As for the subject of the book: I can't imagine a more interesting, entertaining, or remarkable man to read about than Will Rogers. He was an expert with the lasso, a circus performer; wild west show attraction; vaudevillian; stage performer; star of the Ziegfeld Follies and Ziegfeld Frolic for nine years; a silent movie actor; motion picture star; humorist; newspaper columnist; author; world traveler; friend of the high and mighty; and, most importantly, a humble humanitarian who never lost sight of the fact that he was just another man in God's creation. I doubt if there was ever a man, woman, or child that Rogers ever met who didn't like him. And, as he said, he never met a man he didn't like. Will was also a Cherokee Indian who was part Irish and part Scottish, but who turned out to be American through and through. This is all the more remarkable when one considers that he was born in the Indian Territory, which later became Oklahoma, in 1879 and was born into a family which, along with the rest of the Cherokee Nation, had a long history of abuse at the hands of the white man. One would think that with that history Will might easily have become a bitter and resentful man. But strange as it may seem, Will Rogers went on to become the quintessential American and the most beloved American of his time. How he did that and how he lived his life are the subjects of this book. And it is an inspiring story which should be read by every American man and woman, and especially by every child during his or her formative years. My advice to any reader who wants to learn about this truly great American and wonderful human being; wants to learn more about American history or the history of American entertainment; or simply wants to teach his children how better to live their lives, should beg, borrow, or steal a copy of this book, or as a last resort get a copy from the library. I think you'll truly enjoy reading it and, in the process, will learn more than you can imagine about the real world in which we live, for what Rogers had to say in his day is just as timely today as it was back then.