Clint: The Man and the Movies by Sean Levy, narrated by Mike Chamberlain
A fantastic look at the life and career of Clint Eastwood — famed actor, director, jazz aficionado, and even an erstwhile politician.

This is a true warts-and-all biography that dives into both his personal and professional lives, which were often messily intertwined. Levy doesn’t shy away from Eastwood’s complicated relationships with many women, nor his relentless dedication to health and fitness long before it became mainstream.

Eastwood’s on-screen legacy is just as fascinating. From cowboys and war heroes to prison escapees and octogenarian drug mules; from orangutan-loving brawlers and boxing coaches to astronauts and hard-edged cops. And, of course, the indelible stamp he left as the king of the spaghetti westerns.

📖 Text: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🎙️ Narration: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
⭐️ Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The book itself is an excellent glimpse into Clint’s life; a play-by-play of his work as actor, director, reluctant politician, and enduring American icon.

The narration, however, was pretty flat: dry, unengaging, and it honestly didn’t add much to the experience.

Disclaimer: I received a free advance reader copy (ARC) from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. All opinions are my own.

was too long in my opinion, wasn't awful, but wasn't what I was expecting or looking for out of this book. the narrator did good though!

CLINT by Shawn Levy is a well-researched, well written and well narrated biography of a subject who would prefer to keep his life private. Eastwood is a movie star and star director, so people think they know him. I have seen fewer than a handful of his films and didn't know much about him except that he was mayor for some small town in California. But his story and philosophy has been in front of us for 50 years. I now know that thanks to this book. It's not only a biography of him, it could qualify as part modern history book of Carmel-by-the-sea, Malpaso/film production, end of the studio system, health food and lifestyle, and a book on film criticism. I'm less a fan of the subject before I started the book, but I admire his commitment to more or less staying the same way after so many decades.

The narrator does a great job doing Eastwood's voice. I didn't notice a difference when he quotes others, but kudos on nailing Clint's voice.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback and to Harper Audio and Mariner Books.

This is the second book that I’ve read by Shawn Levy, so I was looking forward to reading it. It is certainly a detailed story about Clint Eastwood’s life, from his family history to the present day. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator, Mike Chamberlain, does a good job. There are many interesting facts about Clint, but there is so much detail that I think the book would be ideal for a film class. There is information on all of Mr. Eastwood’s films and how he was paid, his directorial experiences, his style, how the movies were received, budget, box office gross, both in the US and overseas, and his relationships with the actors. His personal life is also described in detail. Although I typically enjoy biographies, I thought that this one would make a great textbook for a film class. And, I would recommend it to anyone with a passion for acting and/or filmmaking. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to preview this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I highly recommend this audiobook! I learned so much that I never would have thought about this actor. Even as an average fan of his acting, this was so interesting.

Thank you #netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

This is a very long book, but it's fascinating and well-worth the time. It's an interesting biography that touches on personal aspects of Eastwood's life but goes into more detail about his career and professional life. I was surprised to realize how many movies he's been in - either acting or directing or producing. I think I've seen and enjoyed all of them! Clint Eastwood is a real treasure

Clint by Shawn Levy is a well researched, fascinating look back on the wild ride that is the life of Clint Eastwood. While I was mainly familiar with the movies he made as he got older, I really enjoyed hearing about the early part of his career, before he became the man so well known today. What a life he has lived! I also can't imagine how his wife was so accepting of his lifestyle, but "different strokes for different folks" as they say. The narrator can make or break an audiobook, and the narrator for Clint by Shawn Levy did a wonderful job. I found myself wanting to throw on headphones and get some stuff done around the house, which I usually dread (the chores, not the audiobook/reading time). I highly recommend this book for fans of Hollywood who would enjoy learning more about Clint Eastwood.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this free advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I was so happy to have the opportunity to learn more about Clint Eastwood. This book was narrated very well by Mike Chamberlain! It was such a pleasurable listen. Good narrators can make or break a book for me.

Clint has such a HUGE life! He has done everything from being in the military to fighting his way into show business to many, many women in his past. Clint wasn’t always the bigger than life movie star he is presently. He had to prove himself over and over to movie directors and production companies. In my opinion, almost more than a lot of other actors had to.

The spaghetti westerns really put him in the forefront as an actor, but even those were just a launching pad; he made very little money in the beginning, and it still took him years to prove his talent. He never gave up and ended up directing, producing and acting. He even owns his own production company. This company produced most of his American films.

Clint gives us a behind the scenes look at his life and most of the films he has been involved in. I recommend this book to everyone who loves film.

Thank you NetGalley, Mariner Books and Harper Audio for this one!

Thank you, Net Galley and Harper Adult Audio for the audiobook arc in exchange for an honest review!

⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3.5/5 stars)
An Unflinching Portrait of a Hollywood Icon
Clint: The Life and Legend by Shawn Levy is a rich, nuanced, and thoroughly researched biography that strips away the mythology and gets to the man behind the squint — Clint Eastwood. Levy doesn’t simply retell Eastwood’s rise from B-movie obscurity to Hollywood legend; he investigates it, questions it, and at times, gently confronts it.

What I enjoyed:

Levy’s approach is journalistic rather than hagiographic. He doesn’t idolize Eastwood, nor does he vilify him. He presents the contradictions: the liberal-leaning libertarian, the rugged individualist who thrived in a deeply collaborative industry, the man who built his brand on stoicism and silence yet has directed some of the most emotionally resonant films of the last fifty years.

The biography covers Eastwood’s entire life up to its publication — childhood, early TV days, the spaghetti westerns that made him an international star, and his long and often surprising directing career (Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby, Mystic River). Levy dives into the details of Eastwood’s personal life too — the romantic entanglements, the children (some of whom he didn’t acknowledge for years, which gave me the ick), and his complicated relationships with collaborators.

One of the most compelling aspects of the book is how Levy explores Eastwood’s evolution as a filmmaker. From being dismissed as just an action star to becoming a respected auteur, Eastwood’s transformation is handled with care, especially regarding how his off-screen persona blurred with — and at times clashed with — the moral ambiguity of his characters.

What I didn’t enjoy:

While the book is well-researched, it can occasionally feel a bit clinical. Levy’s prose is efficient but not especially lyrical, and some readers might find the tone a little dry. Eastwood himself did not participate in the biography, which means key insights often come secondhand — from friends, coworkers, and archival material.

Additionally, fans expecting a Hollywood puff piece may be disappointed. Levy digs into Eastwood’s flaws: his at times tyrannical control over film sets, his often aloof fathering style, his tendency to rewrite history to suit his image.

Overall verdict:

For fans of Eastwood, Hollywood history buffs, or anyone interested in the psychology of stardom, Clint is a compelling and insightful read.

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Really loved the book! Great insights into Clint Eastwood. It was really interesting for anyone who is interested in movies, movie history or movie stars. It’s a long read yes but full of great info, story’s and insights into Clint the man and the movie star

This is a phenomenal biography that everyone needs to read. This bio helped clarify many of the choices Clint has made throughout his career and illustrates why he is such and amazing draw and talent. Clint is a badass and this bio does a great job of explaining why.

To say Clint Eastwood (b. 1930) is an American actor and movie director hardly does justice to the icon. In his biography of Eastwood, film critic and writer Shawn Levy observes, 'C-L-I-N-T. In that short, sharp syllable, there is an emblem of American manhood and morality and sheer bloody-minded will, for better and worse, on-screen and off, for more than sixty years....He is a genuine box office superstar, tall and lean and handsome, with a glint in his eye and a record of hit films spanning more than five decades.'

There are other biographies of Clint Eastwood, including the laudatory book by Richard Schickel and the censorious tome by Patrick McGilligan. Levy takes the middle ground, extolling Eastwood's accomplishments while detailing his affairs and one night stands. Clint was a notorious philanderer who fathered eight children with six women, two of whom were his wives. While Eastwood's personal life was messy, his professional accomplishments were (and continue to be) legion.

Levy's 550+ page book seems to recount every detail of Eastwood's life and work, but I'll just give a brief overview. Starting with Eastwood's early years, Levy covers Clint's birth in San Francisco during the Great Depression and his peripatetic childhood as the family moved around for work. Levy goes on to write about Clint's mediocre performance in school; his attraction to girls, hot rods, and music; his early interest in movies and who made them; his passion for cars and engines; his work as a paperboy, lawn mower, grocery bagger, caddy, and pool digger to keep himself afloat; and his conscription into the U.S Army in 1950, where he became an army lifeguard at Fort Ord in California. Levy writes, 'Among the other grunts hanging around the pool at Fort Ord were a few fellows with nascent careers in Hollywood: guys like Richard Long (The Big Valley), Martin Milner (Route 66), and David Janssen (The Fugitive), who gave Clint the idea there might be some potential for him in that line of work.'

When Eastwood got out of the army he took a few college classes, and in 1953 Clint married Maggie Johnson, who shared his passion for music, fitness, and surfing. At this time, Universal Studios had a Universal Talent School (UTS) for actors, with courses in elocution, poise, fitness, horsemanship, singing, dancing, stage fighting, fencing and acting. After one semester in college, Clint enrolled in UTS, and this is where Clint's seventy-year career in movies began.

It seems Levy watched every movie and TV episode Eastwood was connected with as an actor, producer, or director, and the critic writes extensively about every aspect of Clint's work. Eastwood's early performances were amateurish - 'he didn't know how to stand on a mark, where to aim his glance, how to inhabit his body, how to read a line' - but Clint learned. By the time Clint had a small role in 'Francis in the Navy' (1955), about an army lieutenant and a talking mule, he was getting the hang of acting, but not everything was rosy. For instance, in 'Ambush at Cimarron Pass' (1958) - which has been called the worst western ever made - 'Clint is as stiff and mumble-mouthed and emotionally shallow as in any of his least convincing TV work.' Eastwood pressed on nevertheless, and with excellent foresight, he made good use of his downtime on movie and TV sets, 'wandering through sound stages and various post-production facilities and learning about more than just the acting side of filmmaking.'

Clint got a big break when he was cast as Rowdy Yates in the television series 'Rawhide' (1959 - 1965), about cowboys leading cattle drives in the 1860s. This led to Clint being cast in Sergio Leone's three spaghetti westerns: 'A Fistful of Dollars' (1964), A Few Dollars More (1965), and 'The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966), which were shot in Spain and Italy. The three films, which featured a gunman (Eastwood) dispensing his personal brand of justice, became known as 'The Man With No Name Trilogy'. From here on, there was no stopping Eastwood.

Back in the states, Eastwood and producer Robert Daley formed the Malpaso Company, to make their own movies. Daley was the businessman, Clint was the creative force, and Malpaso focused on 'sober budgets; location shoots; long-term relationships with production personnel; and new money- and time-saving technologies.' Malpaso's early films, such as 'Hang 'Em High' (1968), Coogan's Bluff (1968), and 'Where Eagles Dare' (1968) are action-packed movies starring Eastwood, who was toiling at a brutal pace. The ability to work on one film after another - with almost no respite - helped spur Clint's success, and the Malpaso Company (with studio backing) continued to put out film after film.

Levy mentions each of Eastwood's movies in turn, writing about the scripts, writers, actors, producers, directors, plots, locations, budgets, success (or failure) at the box office, his own opinions, and more. For films helmed by Eastwood, Levy emphasizes Clint's directing style, which is to move fast and do as few takes as possible, an approach most actors must get used to.

By the late 1960s, when Eastwood was approaching 40, he was an international film star commanding more than $1 million per movie. Levy writes, 'Eastwood now found himself among the very, very few people who could command the highest salary AND steer his own journey going forward. And he chose to go small. In many ways, Eastwood was choosing the most out-of-the-box of all the options that lay in front of him, and he was taking the very first steps on his iconoclastic path.'

Among other things, Clint made 'The Beguiled' (1971) about a wounded Union soldier healing at a girls' school, and 'Play Misty For Me' (1971), about a radio disc jockey being stalked by a disturbed woman. 'Play Misty For Me' was Eastwood's first directorial effort, and 'he demonstrated complete ability with the task: shooting, pacing, scoring, casting and working with actors, finding the spine of the story, and assembling a complete package.' Afterwards, Clint starred in 'Dirty Harry' (1971) about a tough as nails San Francisco police inspector. 'Dirty Harry' spawned four sequels (1971 - 1988), and the franchise contains some of the most iconic quotes in film history, such as "Go Ahead, Make My Day".

During all this time, Clint was wed to Maggie Johnson, but admits he wasn't cut out for marriage. Clint comported himself as if he were a bachelor, giving himself free rein with other women, including classmates at UTS; girls at nightspots and jazz clubs; neighbors; actresses; stuntwomen; girls he met on location; etc. Maggie either didn't know or chose to ignore Clint's behavior, and the couple had two children and stayed together until 1984, when they divorced.

Clint went on to have long-term relationships with Sondra Locke and Frances Fisher, and was married to Dina Ruiz from 1996 to 2014. Afterwards, Eastwood was involved with Erica Fisher followed by Christina Sandera. As mentioned above, Clint's extended relationships and casual encounters resulted in eight children with six mothers.

To get the scoop on all of Eastwood's movies and accomplishments, you'll have to read the book, but I will say Clint and his films were nominated for multitudinous awards and won many. Clint's most lauded films are probably 'Unforgiven' (1992) and 'Million Dollar Baby' (2004), which won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director for Eastwood; 'Mystic River' (2003) and 'Letters from Iwo Jima' (2006) which were nominated for Best Picture and Best Director for Eastwood; and 'American Sniper' (2014) which was nominated for Best Picture.

One might think Clint would slow down by his eighties, but nothing could be farther from the truth. At age 88, Eastwood directed and starred in 'The Mule' (2018), based on a true story, about a nonagenarian horticulturist and Korean War veteran who becomes a drug mule for a Mexican cartel; at age 91, Clint directed and starred in 'Cry Macho' (2021), about a broken-down rodeo star who rescues a boy kidnapped by his alcoholic mother, and teaches him to be a good man; and at age 94 Clint directed Juror #2 (2024), about a juror who realizes he may be guilty of the crime attributed to the defendant.

So far, Eastwood has appeared in more than 60 movies and directed 40. And rumors hint that Clint is looking at scripts and hoping to get behind the camera once again.

Eastwood has done more than make movies. Levy writes that Clint is a committed lover of nature who purchased tracts of land for preservation and (appropriate) development. Clint is a dedicated fan of jazz, blues, and country music and has lifted them into the limelight at every chance. Moreover, Clint has written the music for some of his movies. Clint became mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California - where he lives - for two years, to promote business; Clint was a regular at the annual pro-am golf tournament at Pebble Beach; Clint was a dedicated Republican who supported Ronald Reagan and Mitt Romney (he's entitled to his views); Clint is a loving father to his children; and more.

Levy's book is a well-researched and informative biography of Clint Eastwood, highly recommended to readers interested in the show business mogul.

Thanks to Netgalley, Shawn Levy, Mariner Books, and Harper Audio for copies of the book.

This is a DNF
I adore Cljnt Eastwood and am a big fan. I was so excited to get the opportunity to listen to this. Alas, I am so disappointed. I've listened to 12% of this book. There are still over 17 hours left; far too much commentary and unnecessary details. I cannot listen to another single mjnute.

As a longtime Clint Eastwood fan (I even named my sourdough starter after him!), I found this book to be a fascinating deep dive into the life and career of a Hollywood icon. Shawn Levy does a great job balancing personal insight with behind-the-scenes stories from each of Eastwood’s films. It was especially interesting to learn more about the evolution of his work, both in front of and behind the camera. A must-read for any Clint admirer.

Very well written and narrated. Weakest part is author's overly lengthy personal reviews of the films, but otherwise very well done

I picked up this Clint biography in honor of Father’s Day, hoping to feel a little closer to my dad, who was a huge Clint Eastwood fan. What I didn’t expect was just how much I would actually enjoy it! Levy has crafted an exhaustive (in the best possible way) and thoroughly researched account of Eastwood’s nearly 100 years. It's a true saga of determination, cunning, and conquest in Hollywood.

What really sets this biography apart is how balanced and honest it is. Levy doesn’t shy away from the darker or more complicated parts of Eastwood’s life, but he also highlights the remarkable achievements and enduring appeal that transformed the man into a legend. The result is a nuanced portrait that feels both fair and deeply human, allowing readers to appreciate both the man and the myth.

But be warned: this book is LONG. Honestly, if I hadn’t known better, I’d have thought it was “Clint” by Stephen King! Haha. But honestly, I never found myself bored. Every page is packed with fascinating details, stories, and insights. For fans of Eastwood or anyone interested in Hollywood history, this one is a... I hate to say "must-read" because it's so cheesy, but honestly. It's a must-read. Haha.

Beyond the facts and filmography, reading it was a personal experience for me and gave me all those good nostalgia vibes. It brought back memories of watching Clint’s movies with my dad and made me feel close to him again. I can’t recommend it highly enough. It’s comprehensive, honest, and absolutely compelling. A very easy five stars!