John Wayne Was Here: The Film Locations and Favorite Places of an American Icon

Film journalist and author Schaefli has gifted the geekiest of John Wayne geeks with this unique travelogue-cum-biography and gossip tabloid narrative hybrid that comprehensively covers practically every significant location that the actor ever visited: watering holes, restaurants, movie locations, and more. An inveterate traveler with a drifter’s soul, Wayne was happiest when he was filming on location, Schaefli reveals, and his extensive filmography covered the globe. Schaefli assiduously follows Wayne’s travels, from movie locations in the American West, Ireland, Libya, and Spain, to the actor’s treasured vacation destinations in Greece, Monaco, and Mexico. The book is more or less chronologically arranged by film, with locations and place names distinguished in boldface. Juxtaposed with the globe-trotting is an impressive glut of stories and filmland gossip that will entertain the most devoted Wayne fans. Last year, some of Wayne’s racist remarks resurfaced, prompting many to reconsider his legacy; this book doesn’t address Wayne’s racism.