John Ford: Poet in the Desert is an uncommon biography. Author Joe Malham offers rarely explored facets of this dark yet towering poetic genius in a fascinating analysis of the artist's personal life. The influences on Ford's work, from art, history and politics to the man's mystical faith, are skillfully woven together with insights into Ford's famous films. Ford, who won six Oscars, is known primarily for Westerns: The Searchers, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. Yet in movies like The Grapes of Wrath, How Green Was My Valley, The Quiet Man and They Were Expendable, Ford created timeless classics as he explored the role of myth, history, tradition and war in epic dramas of the individual, the family and community. This biography reveals how Ford's work ranged over the vast and textured richness of the human experience.