The author has conducted a lot of research about Clint Eastwood. He has insight into the actor and director’s life. It was interesting and informative. Clint Eastwood is a successful actor, who has lived life in a way that suited him but seems self centered. I believe he is someone that I would not care to meet. The book includes excessive critique of the work of Clint. I mildly recommend this book. ( )

American Rebel : The Life of Clint Eastwood is a thoroughly researched biography of the film legend, and methodically covers the actor/director’s childhood until present day. Marc Eliot utilizes extensive interviews and memiors from other actors, directors and family to draw a detailed portrait of the man and movie legend. From his television days on Rawhide in the early 1960’s to his extremely popular “spaghetti western” feature films, Eastwood has climbed the ladder of success with hardwork and business savvy to become an Academy Award winning director and producer. Despite his tumulotous personal life and stoic demeanor for being an “actor’s director,” the reader will truly know the motivation and character behind this private man after reading Eliot’s well-resourced text. ( )

As a big Eastwood fan I was looking forward to reading this book.

The book is divided into three parts:
Part 1 - From Aimless to Actor – which follows Eastwood from birth until 1979
Part 2 – From Actor to Auteur - which takes place from 1979 to 1990
Part 3 – From Auteur to Oscar – which takes place from 1990 to 2009

The Good:
This book was a fascinating read and reminded me of Mr. Eastwood’s body of work in-front and behind the camera. I knew that Eastwood is a cinematic genius and the book cemented that opinion. The book emphasizes the struggle which Clint Eastwood fights everyday during his life to maintain his independence and individuality from the Hollywood studios as well as society in general.

The Bad:
There is nothing new in this uninspiring book. Nothing which is not available on public record. Reading “American Rebel” was like reading a 330 page magazine article. There are no, or very little, anecdotes which make a biography worth reading and gain new insight into the Eastwood persona. The author doesn’t make any new revelations, gives us any new insights and some of his commentary (the ones not quoted from other magazines) I found misguided.

The Ugly:
I don’t really care how Eastwood acts in his personal life and the Entertainment Tonight (TMZ for you younger folks) style of “news” doesn’t appeal to me, yet the author seems to thrive on this sort of gossip, sordid rumors and “he said – she said” court room dramas.
I know this type of information is part of any biography but does the reader really wants to spend reading pages of soap opera type public-record nuances which doesn’t give us any insight into the subject’s personality?

If you are an Eastwood fan you’d enjoy this book – if nothing else to remind you of the vast body of work he has done over the years.
Clint Eastowood’s rags to riches lifelong adventure is an amazing American success story and he deserves a better book – maybe in his own words (I hope). ( )

Eliot follows Clint's life alongside his movies. Quite an amoral fellow, however, his talent for acting and directing are unique as were the plots of the movies themselves, especially "Million Dollar Baby" and "Gran Torino". The book was well written and it was interesting to learn the background of each movie he was involved in moving along with the dynamics of his personal life. I was very surprised to learn in the book that he had never won an Oscar for Best Actor! Eliot seems to convey convincingly the idea that Clint's movies were a reflection of his character. If your interested in the man behind the magnum 44, you'll be well pleased to read Eliot's rendition of Eastwood. ( )