When I attended the Tucson Festival of Books as a panelist,
I also joined the audience in a number of other sessions. One of the best sessions
was a panel discussion of the book, The
Searchers: The Making of an American Legend. This is a fantastic book
that every Western enthusiast should read. It’s really three stories, perfectly
interweaved. A factual description of the abduction of Cynthia Parker; A historical critique of the
novel, The
Searchers by LeMay Alan; and an intimate look at the John Ford classic film
The
Searchers, starring John Wayne. The theme used to unite the stories is
how history turns into legend until myth is stronger than facts. A fascinating
read on many levels.
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