Book excerpt: Over the past century, the western has fluctuated in popularity. By 2010 it has come to stand, to the dismay of many, at one of its lowest points. Beginning with 1929 and the advent of talkies (In Old Arizona), the author discusses the cultural and industry trends, the directors, producers, studios and especially the stars, and looks at the ways in which their personalities (and financial ups and downs) affected the way westerns were shot. The improvements in technology through the years, the trick horses, the fistfight choreography, the evolution of plotlines--these are fascinating indicators of the way Americans themselves were changing.