From the time I was 10, while other pre-teen girls were obsessing over Bobby Sherman and David Cassidy, I was crazy about John Wayne -50 years my senior. This adoration carried over throughout high school and was so well known that one boy, trying to secure a date, only succeeded by impersonating John Wayne's familiar drawl and naming his jeep "The Duke." In Tucson, the whole town loved John Wayne and affectionately dubbed a Saturday Night midnight viewing of his earliest 1930's westerns - "The Worst of John Wayne." All my dates knew that I had to be home by 11:45 PM because this weekly event couldn't be missed. When he passed away, my friends sent sympathy cards to me and I truly mourned him.
For years, I avoided this book because I thought it would read like "Daddy Dearest." After reading it, I am only sorry that it took me so long to order it.
Aissa presents a candid and honest view of her famous father - through a daughter's eyes. She speaks with love and pride of her father and yet also addresses the downside of being a child of such a famous icon as well. Some of the ways that her father showed his love toward her were so incredibly sweet that I actually envied her childhood. And some of his strictness - especially towards his sons, was so indicative of how men in that era believed that "real men don't cry" and that it was their duty to instruct their sons to be "strong and silent."
In reading the book, it is so clear that John Wayne deeply loved his children - but Aissa was probably his favorite. I believe that her father showed his love the most by not always being the "nice guy," but by often being pretty strict. Parents can't always be friends with their kids during the teenage years because authority is questioned and undermined so much during those years, but it is obvious that John Wayne was strong and responsible and wanted to prepare Aissa with qualities that would carry her over to adulthood. The fact that Aissa became an attorney speaks volumes in that her father would be so immensely proud of her as this was an ambition of his as well.
In many ways, I identified with Aissa because my father was also "larger than life" as a commanding officer of the Green Berets. Ironically, he passed away from lung cancer 5 years before John Wayne. Although not famous, as children of an officer, we were required to present a façade and behave in a manner that would enhance my father's career so I understood to some degree the resentment that Aissa felt growing up. Likewise, I think that we all were somewhat mortified to be around our parents in the 70's. I also know what it is like to have such a vibrant force depart and how angry I felt because he had died and how lost our whole family felt for so many years afterwards. So this book was like reading part of my life. Aissa states that for so many years she was attracted to men like her father and I can see now why I idolized John Wayne.
The one area of the book that I questioned was John Wayne's relationship to his personal secretary, Pat Stacy. I remember the Barbara Walters interview and I am almost sure that he actually wiped a tear away during the interview and then stated that he had found a woman that he really loved. Also, Maureen O'Hara - one of the Duke's best friends, mentions in her book that John Wayne and Pat were in love and that she was glad that he could share his last years with a woman he loved. Likewise, he bought Pat a house right across the street from him as I think in his own mind John Wayne would not want to openly "live with" Pat during that era. It is understandable that Aissa did not want to see that her father was in love with another woman other than her mother. But I believe that John Wayne would want Aissa and Pat now to be friends because he loved them both so much. Personally, I believe that both Aissa and Pat wrote books about John Wayne, not to financially benefit from it, but rather because they felt they owed it to his fans, to themselves, and to John Wayne, himself.
Two things that I wish had been included in this book: Aissa did not mention that her father had been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, with the words " John Wayne - American." I think that this award must have meant so much to her father - almost more than all his other awards. Also, one of my favorite memories of her father was when he appeared on the hugely popular "Laugh-In." He wore this huge bunny suit and had a deadpanned expression and only John Wayne could have gotten away with this. It was hilarious and it just made me think so much more of him that he could be so vulnerable and confident enough to do this.
I have a great amount of respect for Aissa for writing this intimate and honest account of her father through her eyes. We all felt that the Duke "belonged" to us and I am sure that it wasn't easy to share her famous father with the world.
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Top reviews from other countries
Jennifer H.
I loved this one what I like it was about his ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 8, 2015Amazon Customer
Great if you love John wayne
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 8, 2021