humor

I heartily recommend this book not only to those interested in Will Rogers but also anyone interested in the evolution of American popular culture. Yagoda does an excellent job of writing about the people and events shaping Will's life and work. He does not succumb to sentimentality (perhaps going overboard in trying to prove that Will was not perfect). My only regret is he could have researched Cherokee culture and history more thoroughly, which would have explained a great deal more about Will and his family. Otherwise, very compelling reading.

This is probably the best biography of Will Rogers currently available. It is comprehensive, insightful, well researched, and balanced. My only complaint with it is that it ends somewhat abruptly. Yagoda touches briefly on the legacy of Will Rogers after his death, but he could have said a great deal more. Rogers's death evoked profound mourning across the US and the rest of the world, and it would have been nice if he had focused a bit more on that. His analysis, however, of why Rogers gradually ceased to be what he was in his own time--arguably the most popular American who ever lived--is very helpful. I had always found his comparative demise to be quite perplexing, and Yagoda does a superb job of explaining this phenomenon.

One of the greatest virtues of the book is that it does not, like many books on Rogers, engage in hagiography. Will Rogers was a very good, compassionate, honest man. Any book on his will show that. He had his faults, but as presented by Yagoda, they do not diminish the man, whatever it may do to the myth. For instance, Yagoda insightfully points out that while Rogers was rightfully lauded for his wisdom and insight, his thought was marred by an inability to comprehend genuine evil. One is left wondering what Rogers's response to Hitler's behavior in the years just after Rogers's death, and what he would have been able to say about the moral complexities of the Second World War. On the other hand, I would very much have welcomed Rogers as a voice of reason during the days of the Communist Witch Hunts.

Anyone interested in Rogers is strongly encouraged to read this book. I would also like to recommend the first chapter in Lary May's THE BIG TOMORROW. This book is a study of the social dimensions of American cinema from the thirties through the fifties. The first and best chapter is about Will Rogers, and remains the best thing that I have read about Will Rogers. I strongly recommend both books.

this is a great book, it has so much information on life in turn of the century America and vaudville. Also interesting stories of cowboys and indians in will rogers life.it drags alittle in places but for the most part is very enjoyable.