Of course you probably have to be a fan of the movie to enjoy it, or even to pick it up in the first place. I found a remaindered copy at a grocery store in Cape Cod. I stashed it at my parents' place out there and finally read it a few years later.

The book is divided into many short chapters, making it perfect for putting down and picking up again. Generally each person involved in the production gets a chapter that goes over biographical information before covering their role in the film.

They're all really interesting, with cinematographer Lucien Ballard being one of the most so. One of the greatest of all time took a very unusual path to the camera.

It's also fascinating to read about the great Warren Oates and everyone else in the cast. I learned some startling things about William Holden that changed the way I watch him in the movie. (Naturally you have to watch the movie again right after reading this book.)

Lee Marvin is a presence in this book, starting with the author's life-changing experience watching The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and continuing with Marvin's friendship with Peckinpah and original casting choice for Pike.

Stratton also does a great job placing The Wild Bunch in relevant contexts, with the Vietnam War and assassinations creating an atmosphere of violence and fear in the United States and Hollywood itself getting shaken up by the unexpected international success of the Sergio Leone/Clint Eastwood movies.

I wish there were more books like this, as long as they could be written this well.

The first line is "The butchery occurred in the Quảng Ngãi Province village of Sơn Mỹ on March 16, 1968".