Drawing on his deep, extensive knowledge of Hollywood and film, biographer Marc Eliot challenges conventional wisdom and reevaluates Wayne's life and vital cinematic legacy, ultimately placing the man among a select and brilliant pantheon of "actor auteurs." Eliot's masterly revisionist portrait is a remarkable in-depth look at a life that embodied the spirit of the twentieth century. What emerges is nothing less than a powerful under­standing of and appreciation for a true American titan.