Will Rogers: The Man and His Times

by Richard M. Ketchum

-1973-Hardcover with Slip Cover-As Shown-American Heritage Publishing Co, Inc-415 pages-Simulated Signature (in gold) on Title Page-Both hardcover and slip cover are like new condition-* Will Rogers Says, Follies Special Edition [Hardcover]--1992-Hardcover-Cover as shown-Taylor Publishing Co-Printed in USA-86 pages-Autographed by Reba Collins~Author and Director Will Rogers 60 minute Audio-Cassette~Will Rogers~Golden Age Radio-Metacom Audio Publishing Group-

Genres: Biography, Biography Memoir, Nonfiction, History

415 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

A graduate of Yale, Richard Ketchum was a writer and editor who worked for the American Heritage Publishing Company from 1956 until 1974.

Reviews

[James Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up in Wisconsin, but my mother was originally from Oklahoma and we would go there most summers to visit my grandmother. One of the highlights of our trips was more than once visiting the Will Rogers memorial in Claremore, Oklahoma. He was one of my mother's favorite celebrities from when she was a young girl. We shared a bit of Cherokee blood through my mother's great grandmother; thus spurring my interest in Will and the heritage of the Cherokee Nation. So, in addition to Claremore we also visited Talequah, the home of the Cherokee Nation, more than once.
This book has a wealth of photos from Will's life which was quite eventful, both as a humorist and a movie star in the early days of the "talkies". Unfortunately, his life was cut short when his plane crashed in Alaska. This is a great book for anyone interested in the sayings and events of one of America's greatest humorists.

[Ronald]

read some time in 1979

[Ashley Osborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not know much about Will Rogers before reading this book, and now I feel like he is a friend, even as I learn about him 90 years later. This book does a great job of not only describing the man himself and his antics/actions/works, but also providing a lot of context, historical relevance, and anecdotes from those who knew him. The only reason the book is a 4-star read to me is that it is quite tedious in long sections, particularly toward the Great Depression chapters - it reads more like a textbook or museum plaquard in places. The earlier sections of the book and the very last section are fantastic and educational, and I found myself putting down the book to look up videos or photos or deeper dives on the internet. Overall I am very glad to have read this book and to have learned about arguably one of the greatest American entertainers & current-event commentators. (our modern day political comedians owe everything to Rogers!)

[Cactuskid · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very well written with lots of pictures and comments from Will himself. He was a very common man with a sense of humor that will never be seen again. He loved to travel, didn't like to waste time and never rehearsed for his shows - everything was pretty well off the cuff. He never met a man he didn't like and all he knew was what he read in the papers. His shows were mainly about stories (mostly of politicians) that he read in the daily papers. He loved horses and roping. He started out doing shows with just different roping tricks and eventually went to talking. He played in silent movies, wrote for newspapers and had a radio show. He was killed at 55 in Alaska in an airplane crash with Wily Post.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best biography of the man I’ve read. Very engaging and written like a story, not a text book.

[Chris Laimit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was born long after Will Roger's lived and died. This book details his life & times and his effect on our nation. His heart is within and his roping skills to this day would be hard to duplicate. YouTube has a short video taken from the film with the same name "The Ropin' Fool". You will be amazed at his life - don't miss this one...

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of pictures and info on Will Rogers life.

[Terry Dullum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book about a good guy.