I received my book very fast and the book is in good condition as described.

I received my book very fast and it is in good condition as described. Thank you.

I'm in 11th grade AP U.S. History and this is the text we are using. Definetely worth it. Dives into every depth that this nation can exhibit.

I've seen a lot of John Wayne movies, but knew little about the man until I read this book. This is a thorough, well-researched, and well-written book about his life. I don't think you can help liking the big lug, despite his many faults. He was loyal to his friends, honest, well-meaning, and a hard worker at his craft of acting.

The biggest negative about Wayne is that he didn't serve in the military during World War II. The authors go into the reasons and don't spare him criticism. Wayne was undoubtedly more important to the war effort as a maker of patriotic movies than he would have been carrying a rifle - but that doesn't excuse him. He was the original chicken-hawk - a species that is proliferating these days.

I also found the material interesting about the ideological struggle in Hollywood between right and left in the late 1940s and 1950s. We hear a lot a criticism about "black lists" and Hollywood types boycotted because they were leftists; this book points out that the leftists also had their fangs out to bring down the rightists like Wayne. That he came out on top, despite his unpopular political stances, is a tribute to his honesty and stubborn inflexibility - similar to the characters he played.

I doubt that any other movie star is so distinctive in walk and talk - or more deserving of a good biography. I enjoyed the book - and I look forward to reading more about John Wayne someday in a book which will probe even deeper into his life, career, and psyche. Wayne was an American original.

A book well worth your time. The film giant was apparently cursed by a harpy of a mother whom he could never please. It goes into his guilt over leaving his first wife, the complex (or not?) reasons he didn't join the service in WWII, and his health problems at the end. I liked him before, and his made him more human and 3 dimensional.

Olson and Roberts, take the myth of John Wayne and place it (him) into the proper historical context and create a vivid, complete, fascinating and ultimately revealing portrait of one of film's most famous and enduring stars.

John Wayne: American, is not only about Marion Micheal Morrison, the gangly Iowa kid who grew up to become an Icon, but also about the American myth machine. Olson and Roberts include intriguing insights into the Hollywood dream factories, politics and the craft of acting.

Wayne comes off here as a suprisingly complex man who not only proved to be a fine actor but an astute business man who willingly allowed himself to be co-opted as a profitable commodity by not only the Hollywood system but by the political arena as well as the American cult of personality. Whether for well or ill, Wayne came to rdefine not only entire generations of men but also a national identity as well.

The book does honestly deal with the fact that Wayne cocooned himself within the sanctity of the manufactured image and took great pains to maintain that carefully constructed product. But what a product it was.

Olson and Roberts are reverant to their subject while managing to lend the critical eye a terrible aspect. This book is refreshing in its honesty. Admirable for its respectful treatment. And thoroughly entertaining and enlightening in its detail. Watch Wayne's films and enjoy this book.

The first half of "A Line in the Sand" gives a good overview of the history that led up to the famous siege of the Alamo from both the Mexican and Texas settler perspectives. The battle itself and its aftermath (the Texan victory at San Jacinto) are given a good overview as well. Along the way, the authors attempt to portray the battle for what it was, free of either liberal condemnations of the defenders as imperialisist or reactionary attempts to elevate the defenders to God-like status. The truth lies somewhere in the middle of the elevated rhetoric. The defenders made a galliant stand against an authoritarian despot, but they did so in defense of slavery among other things. Whatever else they may have been, the stand of Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, Colenol Travis and the others remains unassailable as an act of bravery.

The second half of the book focusses on the history of the shrine since the battle. It covers preservation attempts and the lionization of the battle by such 20th Century luminaries as Walt Disney and John Wayne. The Alamo has become a powerful political symbol, a fact that was emphasized particularly during the Vietnam war.

All of this adds up to a fascinating and very well written book. The only flaw is that covers the first part too quickly, giving more of an overview than an in-depth history. Nevertheless it is still an informative and enjoyable read.

This is a very well-written book about the history of the famous Alamo mission in San Antonio. Roberts and Olson do a good job of telling about the background of the mission all the way from when it was built by Spanish missionaries until the past decades. The opening few pages show a side of the battle of the Alamo that is not often thought about. It opens with James Butler Bonham sitting on his horse looking down upon the besieged Alamo mission. What would have happened if he just rode away? Instead, Bonham rides into the Alamo with his message.

This book is very informative on everything Alamo. Ranging from Clara Driscoll to the de la Pena diary, John Wayne to Fess Parker, this book has it all. It also gives background on the Texas War of Independence from the Mexican Army's perspective as they march north to crush the rebellion. Very interesting and a good read for history fans and especially Alamo buffs. Visit the Alamo! It is well worth the trip.

I tend to read a lot of historical nonfiction, and much of it seems to range from either well-intentioned but amateurish to, worse, underresearched to support a (not-so-well-) hidden agenda. On the other hand, this book is exceedingly well-researched and well-written, and caught me up in a reading frenzy like none since Ambrose's "Undaunted Courage." The first half of "A Line in the Sand" covers the events leading up to the fight at the Alamo in 1836 from both Mexican and Anglo perspectives, and paints both sides in a fairly honest and unsentimental light. It also does the two thing all nonfiction should do: It doesn't play favorites, telling both sides of the story with journalistic integrity, and it shows the event to be what most similar events inevitably are: a collision of ideals, fate, timing and personalities. Concentrating first on what happened immediately following the battle, through the hagiographic treatment of Crockett, Bowie and Travis, and finally to the view of these men and their actions in 1999, the latter half of the book shows, with a surprising yet believable spin, that a combination of the Cold War, Walt Disney's politics, John Wayne's patriotism and increasing multiculturalism have caused people to view this hourlong battle as everything from a defining moment in American history (even though Texas wasn't IN America at that point) to an attempt by Bowie, Travis and others to preserve slavery and racism. Compelling and very enjoyable book.

This book provides some very insightful perspectives and opinions on minority employment in today's world. Although it can be fairly subtle in some spots, the book is based entirely on fact, and therefore is a good tool for those interested in contemporary labor studies. For those in the field, this book provides fresh new insights. It is appropriate for those studying labor economics, women's issues, minority issues, and discrimination.

This work was well-though out, but not well edited. Still for informational purposes, there are no rivals in terms of water policy and its impact on the peace process.

Building Bridges captures the important issues surrounding the conflict over fresh water in the Near Middle East. This work has spawned an entire stream of related water discussions, conferences, and other publications. It may have single-handedly revived the discussion for a jointly funded "peace-pipeline" of water in the Jordan River Valley. There are some rough areas of the text, but overall it provides some of the best research and analysis of any work of its kind.