American Rebel

July 13, 2009
Eliot, biographer of stars ranging from Walt Disney to Bruce Springsteen, tackles the life, career and artistic challenges of Clint Eastwood. In 1954, at age 24, Eastwood was married and working at an Oakland, Calif., gas station when he was brought to Universal by director Arthur Lubin and signed to a learning contract. After years of uncredited appearances and bit parts in B films, he finally got his break when he was cast as Rowdy Yates on CBS's Rawhide
, seen for eight seasons (1959–1965). His role as the poncho-clad Man with No Name
in Serge Leone's innovative westerns triggered a solid movie career, followed by the popular Dirty Harry series. In 1971, he made his directorial debut (Play Misty for Me
) and later racked up multiple nominations and awards, including Oscar wins for directing Unforgiven
and Million Dollar Baby
. Updating previous biographies, Eliot analyzes both box-office bombs and successes while also probing the “never-ending drama” of Eastwood's modus vivendi, his “financial empire” and his personal relationships. Married twice, Eastwood has seven children by five different women. Although Eastwood did not consent to be interviewed and key sources asked not to be named, Eliot documents a wealth of details in this well-researched, comprehensive biography that will not disappoint Eastwood's fans.

July 15, 2009
The life and career of the ultimate Hollywood survivor.

Celebrity-bio vet Eliot (Reagan: The Hollywood Years, 2008, etc.) unpacks the legendary career of Clint Eastwood. The author provides scant details of Eastwood's early life, noting his indifferent academic career and uneventful, middle-class upbringing. After a series of dead-end jobs, including a storied stint as a gas-station attendant, Eastwood, by dint of his angular good looks and strapping frame, slowly broke into the acting business, becoming a national celebrity playing cowboy Rowdy Yates on the long-running Rawhide TV series. His performance as Yates landed him the role of"The Man with No Name" in a series of seminal, operatic westerns directed by Sergio Leone. Eastwood attained worldwide iconic status as a deadly, laconic, grimly ironic prodigy of violence, further cemented by his series of ultraviolent turns as maverick cop Dirty Harry. Eliot declines to make detailed analyses of the films or the actor's performances, focusing instead on the nuts and bolts of Eastwood's preternaturally savvy careerist maneuvering and womanizing tendencies. Eastwood comes off as a rather cold, unpleasant character in these respects, using friendships and sexual dalliances to his advantage only to ruthlessly cut them off when they became inconvenient or tiresome. The autocratic star also made a habit of working with"weak" directors and co-stars to insure his dominance in his films. Eastwood's directing career, including the Oscar-winning films Unforgiven (1992) and Million Dollar Baby (2004), is recounted respectfully, but again Eliot focuses on the negotiations and profits rather than elucidating his style. On the other hand, the author clearly and succinctly summarizes Eastwood's political and cinematic careers, including the history of his production company, Malpaso. His take on Eastwood's shabby treatment of longtime girlfriend and frequent co-star Sondra Locke betrays a measure of sympathy for her position absent in his description of the star's (many) other indiscretions.

An adequate reference work, but short on the mystique that makes Eastwood such a compelling subject.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

August 15, 2009
Despite numerous film retrospectives and analyses of Eastwood as a director, this is the first full-blown (though unauthorized) biography since Patrick McGilligan's 2002 "Clint: The Life and Legend". Best-selling biographer Eliot ("Cary Grant") brings the reader up to date on Eastwood's life and includes some of Eastwood's richest creative years, during which he produced "Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Letters from Iwo Jima, Flags of Our Fathers, Changeling", and "Gran Torino". Like McGilligan, Eliot highlights Eastwood's small-town roots, his stint on TV ("Rawhide"), the spaghetti Westerns, his penchant for living life on his own terms, and his philandering, but Eliot's book is far more flattering. Eliot's love of movies is apparent, and he seeks to cement Eastwood's legacy as a "legitimate auteur, intriguing, unique, talented, and compelling." Eliot addresses the difficulties in writing biographies about celebrities who are still alive, and though this book was written without interviewing Eastwood, it is well researched. VERDICT Though the writing style is spare, the book is entertaining and informative. Celebrity watchers and film students alike will enjoy.Rosellen Brewer, Sno-Isle Libs., Marysville, WA

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2009
The best-selling biographer of Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart here turns his attention to iconic tough-guy actor and director Clint Eastwood. Eastwoods career and personal life are examined, starting with his college dropout days to bit roles in movies to his eventual star-making television role as Rowdy Yates in the popular Rawhide television series. It was thanks to his Rawhide role, portraying the alienated, tough, and handsome cowboy, that he was chosen by Sergio Leone to appear in his spaghetti westerns. These roles forever entwined Eastwoods persona with the morally ambiguous and quintessentially masculine character he would play in several other roles, including the Dirty Harry series. Eliots careful research traces Eastwoods Hollywood ascension and follows the actors other deepening interests, including directing (which has been called some of his finest cinematic achievements), composing (with a passion for jazz), and politics (serving as mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. Without being too salacious, Eliot also provides a glimpse into Eastwoods tumultuous personal life. Readers will enjoy this close-up look at a prolific and multitalented Hollywood personality.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)