The personal and political life of Eastwood is here, as well, right down to his infamous dialogue with an invisible” Barack Obama — well, a chair, really — at the 2012 Republican National Convention. “It is possible the memory [of Eastwood’s appearance] will never fade,” writes McGilligan, and while that may be true, far more time is spent on the man’s cinematic output. The book is a weighty, hugely informative effort, one befitting a subject of Eastwood’s continued importance.

To read the rest of the review, visit The Film Stage.

People around Clint, those that work for him, won’t talk without his permission. Even many people who had known him for years — or hadn’t seen him in years — wouldn’t talk to me without his permission. They did not get that permission. He has been the master of his own image and publicity. He is a very different kind of actor than Jack, and a different kind of person — and people feared his reaction in a way that was not true of Jack. On the other hand, Clint has left many people behind in his career — personally and professionally — in problematic ways; and many people had never been approached before for their views of and experiences with him. More than one key person left behind told me that I was the first person who had ever asked for an interview about Clint. And for the first time, in any of my books, many people asked to speak to me “off the record” or went “off the record” during their interviews. I tended not to use what was off the record, but what I heard informed my portrait.

To read the rest of the interview, visit Salon.

Ninety minutes later, secreted in a holding room off stage as he waited to be introduced, Clint rejected the offer of face powder. “I want to shine,” the actor explained. Listening to others praise Romney from the podium, he decided he didn’t want to be the tenth guy on the program repeating the same cliches as the others. Eastwood wanted to try something different. “Do you have a stool?” Clint asked a stagehand. “Could you put it onstage before I go out? Just to the left of the podium? Thanks.”

Once he took the stage and after the huge roar of the crowd settled down, Clint started talking, addressing the large audience (auditorium and television) but also (shifting his glance) the chair. What was up with that? Who was Clint talking to? “I’ve got Mr. Obama here,” Eastwood explained, “I was going to ask him some questions …”

To read the rest of the excerpt, visit TruthDig.

To see the full list of recommended books, visit TMC’s Blog, Movie Morlocks.

Interviewer: At the time of the original American hardcover release, you called the book as a critique of a certain kind of male critical adoration of Eastwood. That seems even more relevant today.

McGilligan: Some of the favorable reviews said that and [read the biography] as a critical look at Hollywood and America and a certain image. The fascinating part with Clint is he represents both the actor as auteur, with this vast body of work, and Clint the director as auteur. They complement and overlap and at times they are very separate. It represents a very rich source of investigation and discussion. There is a great number of people who idolize him to the point they are blind.

To read the full interview, visit RogerEbert.com.