Review
“Anyone interested in film and Hollywood’s depiction of historical events must come to terms with Charlton Heston. No actor played more famous characters, from Moses and Michelangelo to Andrew Jackson and Thomas Jefferson, and Brian Wills provides a compelling treatment of Heston’s long and successful career. Apart from roles and films, Running the Race also conveys the complexity, too often overlooked, of Heston’s political stances and actions. This insightful and enjoyable book should find an appreciative audience.”
Gary W. Gallagher, author of Causes Won, Lost, and Forgotten: How Hollywood and Popular Art Shape What We Know About the Civil War
“Charlton Heston’s towering presence could dominate a movie screen, whether as Moses, Judah Ben-Hur, or even Bill Tyler, a mountain man. He was more than a consummate, Oscar winning actor, however. A proud American, he marched for civil rights, stood with fellow actors in their union, counseled elected officials, and served as president of the National Rifle Association. In private, he was a loving husband and father and a trusted friend. Heston led a full and rewarding life, which Brian S. Wills captures in this deeply researched, richly detailed, and finely written biography. Running the Race is an outstanding literary work.”
Jeffry D. Wert, author of The Heart of Hell: The Soldiers’ Struggle for Spotsylvania’s Bloody Angle
“Far from being a ‘star biography,’ Running the Race is a serious work approached the way a historian ought to address a subject: with an inquiring, analytical, and unbiased mind. The result is success on multiple levels, a compellingly interesting read, and a sober contemplation of the place and meaning of an iconic figure in American society and culture. Students of American film will learn much. Viewers who read this before seeing Heston’s films will see them in a whole new light.”
William C. Davis, author of The Whartons’ War: The Civil War Correspondence of General Gabriel C. Wharton and Anne Radford Wharton, 1863–1865
About the Author
Brian Steel Wills is the Director of the Center for the Study of the Civil War Era and Professor of History at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, GA. In addition to leading tours, offering lectures, and conducting programs, Dr. Wills is the award-winning author of many books relating to the Civil War, including biographies of Confederate generals Nathan Bedford Forrest and William Dorsey Pender, and Union general George Henry Thomas. Brian has also written about the Civil War in the movies and recently published a study on noncombat deaths in the Civil War. He is a graduate of the University of Richmond, Virginia, and the University of Georgia. He spends time on his farm in Virginia when not teaching and working in Kennesaw.
