Wayne and Ford

A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year

“A swiftly paced, elegantly written book.”
—New York Times Book Review

“A top-notch new book about the Wayne-Ford Westerns . . . Schoenberger efficiently details the lives and careers of the men, including on-set anecdotes as well as sharp critical observations . . . [Wayne and Ford] impresses with its insightful, enthusiastic appraisal of a cinematic collaboration par excellence.”
—Columbus Dispatch

“Arguably, no collaboration has been more fulfilling for audiences or more influential for narrative filmmakers than John Wayne and John Ford . . . [Wayne and Ford] serves as a lean and energetic introduction to a pair of moviemakers who are central to understanding American cinema.”
—Associated Press

“A wide-ranging exploration of Westerns, the evolution of the film business and the meaning of masculinity that never loses sight of its central theme: the making and unmaking of a great partnership.”
—Hollywood Reporter

“For a tightly focused study of two men and a handful of movies they made together, Wayne and Ford covers an awful lot of ground. We see the Western genre mature, perspectives on the myths of the Wild West shift, and ideas of masculinity interrogated and recast on the big screen. John Wayne’s life and work, especially, have an elegiac quality here that contemporary accounts missed . . . A fascinating two-hander.”
—William Finnegan, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Barbarian Days 

“A closely-observed and supremely engaging account of a difficult friendship and an inspired creative partnership. Whether dissecting a particular film or commenting on the American Western as a genre, Nancy Schoenberger consistently has interesting and original things to say. Half-elegy, half-cutting-edge analysis, this is a book for anyone interested in film and the ways in which it reflects and effects the larger culture around it.”
—Daphne Merkin, author of This Close to Happy

“Nancy Schoenberger analyzes and dissects the intricate blend of pride, dignity, courage, and violence that defines American masculinity as depicted in Ford’s films and embodied by Wayne’s characters. And she locates the hidden depths of vulnerability and self-doubt that help to explain and humanize these brilliant, troubled icons.” 
—Glenn Frankel, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of The Searchers: The Making of an American Legend and High Noon: The Hollywood Blacklist and the Making of an American Classic

“This look into the films of Ford and Wayne and their friendship and why it eventually became tattered is a provocative addition to Hollywood history.”
—Booklist