Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Exceptional Reading Experience!, April 1, 2000
I originally read this book back in the early 1970's when I was a teen-ager. Recently I found it at my Dad's house and had the great pleasure of re-reading it. As with any autobiography there is a certain amount of self-promotion and justification, however this book really keeps it to a minimum. The period covered is from birth until his expulsion from the United States, and gives great insight on the early years of Hollywood, including his formation of United Artists with Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford. If you're a fan of "the Tramp" then I highly recommend this book. If you're not a fan but looking for a great true-to-life story, I would still recommend it as well.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Chaplinisque Tear Jerker, August 2, 2005
Chaplin is Chaplin. This is enough to make his autobiography interesting. It is his honesty and sensitivity and attempts to be in touch with himself at various points of his life that makes this book remarkable. And it is through sharing his inadequacies and traumas that the comic tramp makes me cry.
This book is invaluable in getting an insight into early days of Hollywood. It also provides a great account of Charlie's life and struggles. So the learning is tremendous.
However, the best part of the book is its humanness - fallible, confused, hesitant, and shy and yet successful, rich, adored, and mobbed by fans.
What struck my heart is the loneliness in the midst of a celebrity status and Charlie's ability to get in touch with it and share it.
What is also moving is his trauma during the McCarthy era and his eventual 'reverse migration' to Europe.
Even JFK could not get him back.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
In His Own Words, December 22, 2003
While the movie Chaplin is very well done, no person can tell a story like they can tell there own. Based on this, I chose to read the book written by the cinematic legend himself. While there are some discrepencies between the book and movie, books have an ability to make details evident that movies can not make evident.The book spends a considerable amount of time in his early life. Chaplin struggled with a rarely present father and a mentally ill mother. It was through this poverty that he followed the chosen career path of his parents in the theatre. The theatre would would lead him to America where he would begin working in the new film industry. Through this industry he made classic films that continue to influence modern cinema despite their age. When Chaplin made a film, it had something to say. It was art that spoke to the human soul with humor, love, and hope. His films were not merely a way to make money. Aside from his work in films, Chaplin was a humanitarian. He supported America in times of war depite not being a citizen. Chaplin never forgot his roots, making him empathetic to the needs of the less fortunate. This trait led to the revoking of his citizenship when he spoke of openly of opening a second front in Russia during World War II. It was through this stance that he was labeled a "communist" and had his citizenship was revoked. In spite of these attacks led by J. Edgar Hoover, Chaplin rarely mentions Hoover in his book. Nor does he harbor ill will toward America. It is a travesty that this film legend and humanitarian was treated so poorly by the American government in his later years. The book ends shortly after Chaplin has settled in to his new life in Switzerland. With his new life, Chaplin has a positive outlook. One has to wonder what might have been if Chaplin finished his life in America. Surely he was capable of creating more great work. However, sometimes a man's greatest work and pleasure is his family.
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