[ MP3 CD Format ] From the acclaimed film critic and  New York Times  bestselling biographer of Paul Newman, the definitive biography of Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood, the most prolific and versatile actor-director in the history of the medium, and an indelible fixture of American culture. 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. Whether he's holding a pistol, an orangutan, or a boxing glove; whether he's facing down bad guys on a western street (Old West or new, no matter); staring through the lens of a camera; or accepting one of his thirteen Oscars (including two for Best Picture); he is as blunt, curt, and solid as his name, a star of the old school stripe and one of the most prolific and accomplished directors of his time, a man of rock and iron and brute force: Clint.  To tell the story of Clint Eastwood is to tell the story of nearly a century of American culture. No Hollywood figure so completely and complexly represents the cultural and political climates of contemporary America. At age ninety-four, he has lived a tumultuous century and embodied much of his time and many of its contradictions.  We picture him most immediately as he has appeared to us on screen: squinting through cigarillo smoke in A Fistful of Dollars or The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly ; imposing rough justice at the point of a .44 Magnum in Dirty Harry ; sowing moral vengeance in The Outlaw Josey Wales or Pale Rider ; abandoning farming for murder-for-hire in Unforgiven ; grudgingly training a woman boxer in Million Dollar Baby ; standing up for his neighbors despite his racism toward them in Gran Torino . But those are roles, however well-cast and convincing, and they are two-dimensional in comparison to the whole life. The reality of Clint Eastwood is far more rich, knotty, and absorbing--a saga of cunning, determination, and conquest, a great American story about a man ascending to the Hollywood pantheon while keeping a gimlet eye on its ways and habits and one foot firmly planted outside its door.  "A fascinating, well-researched portrait of a complicated visionary talent." -- " Library Journal (starred review)" "An intelligent and energetic chronicle that encompasses high-flown critique, lowdown tabloid gossip, and savvy show-business reportage." -- "New York Times Book Review" "Author Shawn Levy writes with such insight and nuance that it's like getting to know the star of Dirty Harry and Unforgiven all over again." -- "Washington Examiner" "Reveal[s] fascinating truths about Eastwood's art and about cinema itself." -- "New Yorker" Shawn Levy  is the film critic for the Oregonian and the author of  The Last Playboy; Ready, Steady, Go!; Rat Pack Confidential ; and  King of Comedy . He lives in Portland, Oregon, with his wife and three children.