Young Duke

The Early Life of John Wayne

By (author) Chris Enss, Howard Kazanjian

Not available to order

Publication date:

02 June 2009

Length of book:

208 pages

Publisher

Globe Pequot Press

ISBN-13: 9780762755936

By the time Stagecoach made John Wayne a silver-screen star in 1939, the thirty-one-year-old was already a veteran of more than sixty films, having twirled six-guns and foiled cattle rustlers in B Westerns for five studios. By the 1950s he was Hollywood’s most popular actor—an Academy Award nominee destined to become an American icon.

 

Through previously unpublished photographs and revealing family anecdotes, The Young Duke offers an unflinching look at how Marion Morrison became the legend known as John Wayne—from his boyhood in Winterset, Iowa, to his days as a college football star, to his stunning box-office success in Westerns and war movies in the 1930s and 1940s. Shedding new light on Wayne’s formative years and early Hollywood roles and influences, this biography uncovers the true stories behind the screen legend’s public and private lives.


Praise for other books by Chris Enss and Howard Kanzanjian

 

For Thunder Over the Prairie--

 

“I just finished “Thunder Over the Prairie.” It was fantastic! The story was totally captivating. I love the way we started by meeting Dora, and were given just enough information about her to grow to like her and then she’s taken away from us. I guess that’s kind of how her life was. The reader feels just like the people of Dodge City must have felt, to lose her so early and tragically.  Then we meet the posse. The names are all familiar but their stories not as well known. To hear them swap stories between themselves, then to read their histories, gets us to understand how it is that they are all here at this particular time and together for this event. You feel that they’re destined to succeed in capturing this animal. How could they fail?  I loved the book and have recommended it to others already.”

 

Dale Warshaw, Literary Critic

KMSB TV Tucson, AZ. 

 

 

“Thunder Over the Prairie, written with cinematic clarity and a galloping pace, is a wonderful primer for the considerable literature on Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp et. al.  This accessible narrative of a fascinating episode in the careers of these well-known western icons is filled with characters that are archetypal yet utterly fresh at the same time.  This charming book is the perfect read for anyone lingering over a drink (or two) in a dusty western saloon on a lazy afternoon.”

 

Jay O’Connell, author of Train Robber’s Daughter:  The Melodramatic Life of Eva Evans, 1876-1970

 

  

 “Lawmen, cowboys, songbirds and soiled doves…it doesn’t get much better.  A shooting, a chase and a trial whose verdict changes all of their lives.  Thunder Over the Prairie is a great story from the history of our American West, warts and all.”

 

Dakota & Sunny Livesay

Chronicles of the Old West

 

For The Cowboy and the Senorita:

 

"A bittersweet and engrossing book."

--True West magazine

"[Roy and Dale's] real-life story is one the reader will recall long after the book's cover is closed; it's also a chance for a new generation of fans to rediscover this cowboy and his senorita."

--ForeWord magazine

 

For Gilded Girls—

"Gilded Girls is a delicious, illuminating glimpse at the colorful and often scandalous women who made their living performing for the restless souls of the Old West."
--Bob Boze Bell, True West magazine

 

"Before the hottest performer today, the unforgettable, feisty women in the Old West saga Gilded Girls reigned supreme as the most luscious kind of talent available--truly a wonderful scathing read!"
--Jennie Lew Tugend, Capstone Pictures

 

"With Gilded Girls Chartier and Enss have again shown us an overlooked facet of the women in the Old West....A must-read for anyone who wants a well-rounded knowledge of the 1800s in Western America."
--Dakota and Sunny Livesay, Chronicle of the Old West newspaper

 

 

For Pistol Packin’ Madams—

 

“Hard workin’, hard livin’, and hard lovin’, these pistol-packin’ madams were the brave and colorful business women of the old west. What an inspiration . . . .”
—Kim Dickens, Deadwood’s Joanie Stubbs

 

 

For None Wounded, None Missing, All Dead—

 

"If you're enjoying the back cover of this book, just wait 'til you read what's
inside".

Clint Black

 

"Through insightful research and good storytelling, the authors have brought to life an untold story from the annals of American history.  

Behind the battle of the Little Bighorn, and afterward, Enss and Kazanjian have given us the real story of George Custer and his wife Elizabeth, and explores a marriage and life heretofore unknown.  A must read for all who thought they knew Custer. "

 

Rodman Gregg, 

Film & Television producer

 

"None Missing, None Wounded, All Dead: The Story of Elizabeth BaconCuster contains startling disclosures from freshly discovered documents that reveal previously unknown facts about the most famous couple of the nineteenth century. This book is detailed, well documented, and historically valuable."
  Christopher Kortlander Founding Director Custer Battlefield Museum