Since he first leapt to fame in TV's "Rawhide", Clint Eastwood has been in control of his personal and professional destiny - for 30 years he has had the Hollywood system working for him. As an actor and director, his movies - from "A Fist Full of Dollars" and "Every Which Way But Loose" to "Dirty Harry" and "Unforgiven" - consistently display his talents for high drama and wry humour. Colleagues that Eastwood has kept close for many working years here tell of his extreme professionalism and fairness on set, despite his constant striving for perfection. His private life has always remained in the shadows. A man devoted to his children, Eastwood's affair for over 12 years with co-star Sondra Locke exploded in the courts; here Locke speaks of the man she loved, and lost. This book presents Eastwood as a man of modesty with a universal outlook, a talented star with a love for the home life, a recognised master of the genre of the western who turns his hand to starring roles on and off the screen - from Mayor of Carmel to eternal loner.

Michelle Pfieffer

by Douglas Thompson

Published 31 July 2011