Posts from Stumpy in thread „Books on Duke- Past Discussion (Archive)“

Quote from stagecoach50

I had a book, I kick myself in the head now.
I bought it at an auction (a live auction, as there was no Ebay then) in the 1980's, at that time the book sold at auction for $350.00, a bit of money, even back then.
It was a hard bound book that Duke had in his library. It was STAGECOACH, it have every frame of the movie and the complete dialogue of the movie. It was signed by Duke, and was certified to be one of his last signatures, and from his library. Unfortunately, my wife and I developed some serious financial troubles, the economy was like today's, we both lost our job, and had no money, so I had to sell the book. I hope today it is in good hands, I could imagine what it would sell for now.
Andy:teeth_smile:

Wish you'd been a member of this board and offered it for sale on here, Andy. I'd give some serious money for an item like that
Jim

Quote from markgpl

Thanks, Stuumpy, for this great link / recommendation. I've already checked itt out and added about 6 books to my cart.

Much appreciated..!!

You're welcome, Mark and glad to have you as a member of the group.

BTW, before you order any books from abebooks, be sure and check out the seller's rating from past buyers. I've only been burned once but that's too many times, IMO.

It's incredible what you can find on that site though. A few years ago, I managed to buy a favorite book from my childhood back in the Forties, believe it or not.

Quote from Stumpy

The next time you decide to buy a book, IHW, go to this site. You can probably get it a lot cheaper. For instance, I think I paid about 12 US dollars (plus 3 or 4 S/H) for my copy of "John Wayne - American".

Another very readable Will Henry book is titled "No Survivors", which is about a Confederate veteran who is captured by the Sioux and adopted into the tribe.

When I first saw Costner's "Dances With Wolves", I was almost sure it had been based on Henry's book but discovered it wasn't.

Anyone who enjoys good reading can obtain a hardback copy of the book on abebooks for less than $10. I almost guarantee you'll like the story.

I'm curious - of all the JW books mentioned on this thread, what are your personal favorites and the ones you consider most informative about our icon?

Speaking for myself, my favorites are "Shooting Star" by Maurice Zolotow (I have a copy autographed by the Duke himself - I know he didn't like the book but I sent him a copy and he autographed it anyway); "John Wayne - American" by Randy Roberts and James Olson; "Duke: The Life and Times of John Wayne" by Donald Shepherd and Robert Slatzer; "There Rode A Legend" by Jane Pattie and the filmography by Allen Eyles.

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Originally posted by Senta@Aug 20 2005, 06:59 AM
Hi all,
You mentioned so huge amount of interesting books about Duke and related to him that I feel completly lost and have no desire were to go and what next book to order. Now I have only two of them: one by Pat Stacy wich I have almost read and liked very much and Duke. The John Wayne album by Boswell and David it contains a lot of good photos.

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Vera,
There are dozens of good books about Duke. One of the best of the biographies is "John Wayne: American" by Randy Roberts and James Olson.

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Originally posted by Cole Thornton@Jan 20 2005, 03:25 PM
John Wayne: American is by far the best. I bought it when it came out back around 1997. Before that book, nost Duke bios read like: "Duke loved children and animals, he never said anything bad about anyone, and was perfect in every way."

Not really, but previous bios were rather shallow...

Let me also say that American does a wonderful job in covering Duke's times, as well. You will learn a lot about HUAC and the divisions in Hollywood and the country. It almost reads like a history of the US during the mid-20th Century. Fantastic book I refer to quite often.

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I think another good biography of the Duke is "Shooting Star", of which I have an autographed (by Wayne) copy. It's funny - I thought "Shooting Star" was very complimentary of Duke but when I got it back from him, he had written a note on the flyleaf to accompany the autograph. It said, and I quote: "Jim,

This fellow made mighty insulting mistakes in this book and wrote without permission but I guess it doesn't matter, nobody's perfect.

/signed/ John Wayne
1975"

Apparently it was an unauthorized bio, though I read somewhere else that Duke had granted the author, Maurice Zolotow, lots of interview time.

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Originally posted by InHarmsWay@Jan 19 2005, 02:22 PM
I bought John Wayne:American about a year ago now and was the best john wayne book i have came across,although it set me bacp 55dollars,it was worth it.

-IHW

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The next time you decide to buy a book, IHW, go to this site. You can probably get it a lot cheaper. For instance, I think I paid about 12 US dollars (plus 3 or 4 S/H) for my copy of "John Wayne - American".

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Originally posted by itdo@Jan 3 2005, 01:22 PM
Pictures such as Chief Scar getting his hair sprayed for the upcoming scene,

Surely you jest, Roland. That bad, bad, baaaad Injun getting his hair sprayed? The very thought of that sends me into gales of laughter. :lol: :lol: :lol:

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Originally posted by chester7777+Sep 16 2003, 11:55 AM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(chester7777 @ Sep 16 2003, 11:55 AM)</div>

dukefan1 (and anybody else who loves books),

Ebay is a good source, and so is Amazon.com. In fact, before I will bid on Ebay, I check to see if the book is available at Amazon. It often is, and at a fixed price (no bidding war there). Shipping on Amazon for one item, used, is generally $3.50 and I take that into account when determining which place will serve me better.
Also, anything bought new that adds up to $25.00 or more, you get free shipping.

Happy shopping!

Chester[/b]

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IMHO, this is absolutely the best place on the internet, bar none, to shop for out-of-print books. Not only are you almost sure to find what you're looking for (including all those Wayne-related books) but it will probably be at a good price, much better than ebay or Amazon.

When I first came across it, I looked up, and bought at a very reasonable price, a book that I last read in the Nineteen Forties, when I was a kid of about 7 or 8. I couldn't believe it when I discovered that book on the site, because I'm sure it has been out-of-print for at least 50 or more years. (I bought the book out of nostalgia, because it was one of my favorites when I was a kid.)

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Originally posted by arthurarnell@Feb 14 2004, 11:59 AM
Hi

An embarrasing incident happened to me a couple of years ago. One Christmas we went to Gravesend for a Charles Dickens Fair (Dickens lived in the area for most of his life and the locals were heavy into his books and costumes etc) and looking through a local second hand bookshop I saw Zolotow's Shooting Star for £2.00. I almost snatched it out of the booksellers hands.

On the way home I couldn't wait to read it and in a blackened coach mine was the only light on. This attracted the attention of the courier as she assumed that I had bought a book dealing with Dickens. When I told her what I was reading she walked back to the speaker system and said:

Ladies and Gentlemen we have spent all day at the home of Charles Dickens and that man is reading a book about John Wayne.

Regards

Arthur

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That was funny, Arthur. Obviously you're a man with his priorities in the right place. :lol:

BTW, what was your opinion of "Shooting Star"? Did you also think that the book was, on the whole, complimentary to the Duke?

"

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SHOOTING STAR, by Maurice Zolotow
Published in 1970, Zolotow was the first biographer to sit down and talk at length with JW – an advantage pretty much no biographer had afterwards

"

I was surprised to read this.

I have an autographed (by the Duke, not Zolotow) copy of "Shooting Star". I thought it was very complimentary of Big John but in the note he included with his autograph, he said, and I quote, "This fellow made mighty insulting mistakes in this book and wrote without permission, but I guess it doesn't matter; nobody's perfect."

It seems to me that I have also read somewhere (but can't recall where) that "Shooting Star" was an "unauthorized" biography.