I've read that many times - why the fame... combination of ammo cost, reliability, firing power or did the Weiders promote it?
It's partially justified and partially just the John Moses Browning bigotry of gun owners. The 1911 is big, relatively heavy "single stack" (read: holds less ammo) that shoots a big bullet. It's quintessentially American: overweight, made of solid steel, with a small number of haymakers.
That said, the shootability of the platform is great. The barrel axis (how low the barrel sits in relation to your wrist) is very low and that makes for much more controllable recoil. Only the Glock comes close these days.
It's not a beginner's gun, as there are a lot of controls on it that beginners can forget. I shot a comp with mine and forgot to disengage the manual safety out of the holster. Cost me more than a second. I wasn't gonna win anyway, but that was embarrassing.