In the landmark Western ¡°The Searchers¡± (1956) directed by John Ford, John Wayne plays embittered Civil War veteran Ethan Edwards, in obsessive pursuit of Comanche Indians who have kidnapped his niece. Such is Edward¡¯s hatred for Native Americans we spend the movie convinced he will murder, not rescue, his niece for falling into their clutches. Wayne, said one critic, was an American gone mad; in chasing the beast he had become the beast himself.

Liv, by Roger Pulvers.
148 pages