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List Price: $18.00 | | Publisher: Vintage
Salesrank: 484158
Released: October 21, 1997 |
| Our Price: $10.19 |
| Used Price: $2.29 |
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| Media: Paperback |
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Editorial Review:
"Authoritative . . . highly nuanced . . . gives the reader a palpable sense of Mr. Eastwood's career."
--The New York Times
From the moment The Man With No Name first fixed the screen with his murderous squint, from the first time audiences heard Dirty Harry Callahan growl "Make my day," Clint Eastwood has been an icon of American manhood in all its coolness and ferocity. But that icon is also an actor of surprising subtlety, a filmmaker of vast intelligence and originality--and an intensely private man who eludes the stereotypes with which his fans and critics try to label him.
In this in-depth biography, the distinguished film critic Richard Schickel talks with Eastwood's family, friends, and colleagues--and, above all, with his notoriously reticent subject--to produce a portrait more astute and revealing than any we have ever had.
Following Eastwood from his unstable childhood through his turbulent love affairs, assessing films from A Fistful of Dollars to the Oscar-winning The Unforgiven, and locating the subversive streak of rage and solitude that runs through all his work, Clint Eastwood is candid and endlessly fascinating, an unerring closeup of one of our brightest stars.
"Exhilarating . . . substantial, insightful, and right."
--Newsday
Description of Clint Eastwood: A Biography:
Schickel, a movie critic for Time magazine, surveys the life and career of Hollywood's laconic macho superstar. Eastwood's career has slowly developed: television success in Rawhide; his icon-defining role as the nameless gunslinger in Sergio Leone's spaghetti Westerns; movie superstardom with the Dirty Harry series; then a softening, and even some intellectual respectability, with his Oscar for directing Unforgiven. Shickel chronicles Eastwood's middle-class upbringing in Oakland, California, details a personal life that included a drive to bed many women, and recasts Eastwood from his role as the male equivalent of the "dumb blonde" to that of "one of the great ironists of the age."
Clint Eastwood: A Biography Reviews:
Art Does not Imitate Life 
2009-01-15 - I was very interested in reading a biography of Clint Eastwood and this one was the most popular but I have to agree with the overall poor ratings. The parts about Clint's early life was very interesting and well done but when Schickel describes in detail the plot of each movie I began to lose interest and somewhat upset to know too much about the movies I had not seen yet. Hopefully a better biography will be written in the future.
Too much time spent on critics. 
2008-07-19 - Richard Schickel is a friend of Clint Eastwood. That itself shouldn't disqualify him from writing this book.
The problem with the book is that it is very biased, he spends an absurd portion of the book defending Eastwood from an assortment of negative movie critiques, predominantly those of Pauline Kael.
I am a fan of most of Clint Eastwood's films and movie critics have never been a factor in formulating my opinion of any particular movie. And I don't see why Clint Eastwood's work needs defending!
"Clint Eastwood-a Biography" is otherwise loaded with some fascinating facts about Eastwood's life and career.
Schickel describes how Eastwood obtained various scripts for movies that he was involved in as an actor, director, and sometimes both.
The details include his relationship with other stars, directors, and producers.
Who proposed the forming of Malpaso and how monumental that company became is another topic in the book.
I found it interesting that Clint turned down the part of "Harmonica" in "Once Upon a Time in the West". That's the role that Charles Bronson accepted in a movie that eventually came to be regarded as one of the best westerns of all time and a personal favorite of mine.
The book details Eastwood's inherited musical talent and how deeply jazz has influenced the actor both musically and in film.
Clint solves the mystery of the identity of his character in "High Plains Drifter".
Another aspect of Eastwood as a director is the location of shoots for the "Eiger Sanction" and "Unforgiven". His sense of realism can be extreme, but admirable.
Overall "Clint Eastwood-a Biography" has a lot of trivia-type information and can be entertaining. What downgrades the book considerably is the seemingly endless ranting about the negative reviews from movie critics.
A Fistful of Delights 
2008-07-01 - It is obvious that Mr. Schickel is a movie critic, a good friend of Mr. Eastwood and an apologist of practically everything the film icon has done that is questionable. The book is a sympathetic portrayal and does a fine job explaining the movie star's rise in the entertainment field. Thankfully, this is not a slimy celebrity biography in the likes of Kitty Kelly's works. Instead, Mr. Schickel spends a great deal of time explaining many of Mr. Eastwood's films and how his choices are related to his growth as an individual. A fascinating subject matter who has endured in an industry that usually makes cannon fodder of most celebrities' having long-term careers. Elements of luck, intelligence and perseverance enabled Mr. Eastwood to remain an entertainment force for over four decades. Well-written and informative. If you've ever had a keen interest in how this man became an American movie icon, you'll probably enjoy the book.
Very informative Book 
2008-06-29 - Several folks here have given this book a bad review simply because the author and subject are friends. So what? Clint will not write an autobiography so this is the next best thing. He simply chose to focus on the film making process that Clint uses and stay on the positive side of his personal life. He admits in the book that he cheated on his wife numerous times but doesn't go into great detail about it. We all know this anyway, why should we hear the details? Reading this book gave me great insight on Clint's life growing up, his family, his Army days, behind the scenes of "Rawhide" and all his greatest movies. I know Clint was not a saint in his personal life but that's not what I want to read about anyways. I want to read about his work which is why I'm a fan to begin with. If you want to read the gossip which may or may not be true, read the enquirer or Pat McGilligan's book which paints Clint as just a step above Hitler!
Fawning and ridiculous
2006-08-18 - Eastwood has always been one of my favorite action stars. Generally a stiff and unsurprising actor, he has played virtually the same character in all his movies. Which is not a problem (for me). My problem is biographies like this one written by Schickel, a usually intelligent and perceptive critic. I'm assuming he had to kiss up to Eastwood in order to get certain information in this book, and his writing reflects this position. Toadish and lacking in objectivity, Schickel finds nothing wrong with Eastwood's constant cheating on his first wife, his inability to work with other directors (he is a control freak), and his hiring of sycophants who would not question his motives--and if they did, they never worked for him again. A major disappointment for anyone seeking an honest evaluation of Eastwood's film career. However, if you worship the ground he walks on--as Schickel obviously does--then this is the book for you!
