Review of \u3ci\u3eThe Crowded Prairie: American National Identity in the Hollywood Western\u3c/i\u3e by Michael Coyne

English and French scholars began to write serious critical commentaries on the American Western almost before Americans did. Beginning with Andre Bazin\u27s important essays of the 1950s, the analyses of Jean Mitry and Jean-Louis Rieupeyrout, and coming down to Paul Bleton\u27s 1997 collection Les hauts et les bas de l\u27imaginaire western, the French have helped us realize the artistic importance of the generic Western just as they showed Americans how to appreciate Edgar Allan Poe, William Faulkner, and many other major figures. The English critical tradition on the Western has been equally rich but different in its orientation. Beginning with Philip French\u27s pioneering 1977 Westerns: Aspects of a Movie Genre, English scholars like Jim Kitses, Christopher Frayling, Phil Hardy, and Ed Buscombe have been particularly interested in how the Western treats cultural myths and political issues