I really thought I'd like this. That is find it informative and surprising. Not so much I think I had an idea of what I wanted it to be and so I was disappointed because there is nothing wrong with this book at all. I take all of the blame probably read at the wrong time so intuitively my plan my thoughts in preparation just line up. Chaplin himself is an extraordinary man and hyperfocused on his career to the point of practically ruining fluff right down the toilet. I think that's the one aspect I did study in this book. I did read some parts more slowly than others. Could I read this again and most likely get more out of it? Yes if only NG and the publishers would allow it. First impressions are often not enough esp when readers have a deadline to meet

Charlie Chaplin rose to fame over 100 years ago, but his fame hasn’t faded over the years. One of the most visionary movie makers in modern history, he rose from desperate poverty and homelessness during his childhood to become one of the wealthiest and most respected men in his chosen profession. And yet, for some odd reason, the U.S. government relentlessly pursued him as if he were an enemy agent, eventually forcing him to retire abroad. It’s a bizarre episode in U.S. history, and a fascinating one.

When I saw that Scott Eyman, an author whose biographies of actors I have previously enjoyed—John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Henry Fonda—had written about this case, I had to read it. My thanks go to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the invitation to read and review. This book is for sale now.

Charlie was born in 1889 in London. His mother Hannah was an actress, a loving mother whose health was dreadful. In addition to more conventional illnesses, she was sent repeatedly, and for longer stretches each time, to mental hospitals; it has been speculated that she suffered from syphilis, which eventually had devastating effects on her brain. Charlie’s father was a businessman who left the family and refused to pay a single shilling of child support because one of Charlie’s brothers was conceived with another man. And as an aside, if there is an afterlife, I sincerely hope that Charles Chaplin, Senior is roasting eternally in the flames of hell.

For a while, Hannah’s relatives cared for Charlie and his older brother, Syd, but eventually the boys found themselves in a workhouse, beaten, abused, sickened, and barely fed. It was his brother Syd who first discovered that acting could keep him out of the workhouse and put food on the table, and once he was so employed, Syd took his pale, sickly little brother to the theater and persuaded his boss to use Charlie, too. Thus was a star born.

His tremendous suffering during his childhood gave Charlie a lifelong sympathy with the working class, the impoverished, and the down and out. Early in his career, a director gave Charlie a costume and told him to come up with a character, and this was when he invented The Little Tramp.

I’ve known for most of my life about Charlie’s expulsion from the U.S., but I’ve never been sure whether he was a Communist. I’ve known people brought up in Communist households in America, and for many years, they existed strictly underground, so I wondered, did Chaplin deny his affiliation because he wasn’t a Communist, or because he was? Eyman’s meticulous research demonstrates once and for all that Charlie was not political. He told the truth about himself: “I am not a Communist. I am a peace monger.”

Nevertheless, once he gained prominence in the American movie industry, he had a target on his back. It’s difficult to understand why politicians and bureaucrats in California and in Washington, D.C. hated him so fiercely.

“A month after the revocation of [Chaplin’s] reentry permit, the FBI issued a massive internal report documenting more than thirty years of investigations focused on Chaplin, a copy of which was dispatched to the attorney general. The report revealed that, besides the FBI, Army and Navy Intelligence, the Internal Revenue Service, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of State, and the U.S. Postal Service had all been surveilling Chaplin at one time or another. In short, the entire security apparatus of the United States had descended upon a motion picture comedian.”

Eyman has done a wonderful job here. Because I had fallen behind, I checked out the audio version of this book from Seattle Bibliocommons, and I alternately listened to it and read the digital review copy. Of course, anyone reading this book for the purpose of academic research should get a physical copy, but those reading for pleasure may enjoy the audio, which is well done; this is a through, and a lengthy biography, and the audio makes it go by more quickly.

I confess I haven’t read any other Chaplin biographies, so I cannot say for certain whether this one is the best, but it’s hard to imagine a better one. For those sufficiently interested to take on a full length biography, this book is highly recommended.

A very good book, lyrical and takes you back in time to the exceptional life and work of a truly transformative entertainer.

Thanks for the ARC.

I am a huge fan of Scott Eyman - having read his book on Cary Grant as well as Louis B. Mayer (which I have now read twice!). This book covers the campaign by influential people to get Charlie Chaplin deported back to England - people like Hedda Hopper, William Randolph Hearst and J. Edgar Hoover (to just name a few). The guise was that he was a communist and unpatriotic (yet there was no evidence to substantiate that claim, and in fact he raised lots of funds for war bonds for the US). Then there were the "moral" charges - his womanizing and fabricated accusation of impregnating someone. It is curious why he was a huge target at the time. I know Hearst suspected he was having an affair with his mistress (that's right - Hearst was married and had a mistress, Marian Davies) so a morals charge is kind of ridiculous! Eyman's book does a fantastic job covering both Chaplin as an artist and as a citizen who is being undermined. I couldn't help but feel sad for him and his family realizing they could never return home to America. When the Academy of Motion Pictures finally invited him back for a tribute it was too little too late. I remember seeing that footage and feeling sadness at what happened to him. In the end, he was a brilliant artist, filmmaker and composer. His films live on.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for an ARC and I left this review voluntarily.

Scott Eyman, one of the finest Hollywood historians, takes on the familiar subject of Charlie Chaplin with a fresh approach in an invigorating work of biography. CHARLIE CHAPLIN VS. AMERICA considers the filmmaker through the prism of his politics, how those beliefs infused the movies he made after the silent era—chiefly CITY LIGHTS, THE GREAT DICTATOR, and the still-divisive MONSIEUR VERDOUX—and how those views, plus Chaplin’s personal peccadilloes, led to his exile from the United States. More than one person close to Chaplin observed how his politics weren’t so much well-informed as deeply felt, and as Eyman writes the scale of his social commentary eclipsed the left/right paradigm. But he became a convenient target for the anti-Communist forces that eventually hounded him out of his adopted country and cost him his creative vitality. Eyman includes fascinating observations about Chaplin’s filmmaking and the devastating effect a childhood of privation had on his outlook. But the focus rigorously remains on Chaplin as an early target of what is now known as cancel culture as well as “the most prominent victim of the Red Scare.” Compelling, commanding work.

"Patriotism is the greatest insanity the world has ever suffered," [Chaplin] told one reporter. "I have been all over Europe....Patriotism is rampant everywhere and the result is going to be another war."

One of the keys to a really good biographer lies in this quote from Aaron Sorkin's play-turned-film, A Few Good Men, "It doesn't matter what I believe. It only matters what I can prove." And Eyman delivers this in spades. His clear adherence to the truth is what elevates the building blocks he uses to fashion a clearer picture of his subject.

When grappling with a way to tackle Charlie Chaplin in a way that had not been done before, Eyman states, "I always wanted to write about him, but bookshelves groan under the weight of books about Charlie Chaplin, and I didn't have an approach. What could be said about him that hadn't already been said? And then it hit me. Focus on the process by which Chaplin segued from the status of beloved icon to despised ingrate; focus on him being converted from one of America's prized immigrants to a man without a country."

Eyman's approach to biography truly stands out in a genre often filled with sensationalism and juicy gossip. While many biographers eagerly embrace scandalous secrets and craft narratives to suit their own agendas, Eyman treads a different path. He emerges as a dedicated truth-seeker, committed to offering a genuine and all-encompassing portrayal of his subjects. In the world of Hollywood biographies, where the dissection of lives is customary, Eyman's work doesn't aim to patch up fragile legacies; rather, it delves deeper into the essence of the subject. Through painstaking research and layers of information, Eyman brings Chaplin to life, offering fresh angles on his character and his life's accomplishments. He shines a spotlight on facets of Chaplin's persona that were previously veiled, often obscured simply by the passage of time. This thorough approach not only cements Chaplin's legacy but also unveils new facets of the intersection of his life and career that might have otherwise remained concealed.

Besides seeing Robert Downey, Jr.’ s portrayal of Charlie Chaplin on the big screen (brilliant performance!), I’ve never watched a whole Chaplin film and have only watched clips of his movies in several history of the movies retrospectives. I knew about his exile but beyond that, I didn’t know the reasons why.

Scott Eyman is a master at research and has put together the penultimate biography of the master of silent films. As he did with Cary Grant: A Brilliant Disguise, he does a deep dive and provides a compelling re-examination one of Hollywood’s biggest names in the context of today’s world.

Born into poverty with an older brother, a mentally ill mother, and an absent father, early life was rough for Chaplin. Through hard work and determination, Chaplin made his way to the United States. “Charlie Chaplin was an arrogant, combative, narcissistic, over-sexed and unreliable human being; he was also arguably the most brilliant cinematic genius of the 20th century.” — Glenn Frankel, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. That about sums up Chaplin in a nutshell, but there was so much more.

Yes, Chaplin had a thing for younger ladies, sometimes teens. He went through a succession of wives and lovers during his years as a filmmaker, and was even the subject of a paternity suit, which proved he wasn’t the father of the baby in question, but that didn’t matter to conservatives in the government. Eventually, he settled down. He met his last wife when she was 18, and they had 8 children and by all accounts, Charlie was a good husband and father.

Chaplin was very vocal about his politics, and that got him into a lot of trouble. It was the late 1940s and early 1950s in America, and the Red Scare was in full force. Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy, California Senator Richard Nixon, and a host of other government officials openly attacked artists of all walks of life: authors, filmmakers, performers of all types. They wanted to get rid of all the “Communists”. Chaplin was very high on their list because he was so outspoken, never became a U.S. citizen, and because of his sexual proclivities. And let’s not forget the morally bankrupt head of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover. Because of this, when Chaplin left America one particular time, the government revoked his visa to return. He ended up living in exile with his family for more than 20 years.

If you love movies and the history of filmmaking, you’d probably like this well-researched and detailed biography of Charlie Chaplin, who, despite his personal faults (as is the case with many celebrities), was one of the greatest entertainers of the 20th century. You’ll also want to find out how and why Chaplin was allowed to return to the United States.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Books; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

For more reviews, visit www.bargain-sleuth.com

For once, I have read a book on a "complicated" actor and didn't hate them by the end of it. The author of this miracle is Scott Eyman and his book is Charlie Chaplin vs. America.

Eyman takes a look at the life of Chaplin mainly around the time when the U.S. decided he was a communist and needed to be kept as far away from America as possible. This is still very much a biography of Chaplin and anyone who only knows the Little Tramp will learn a lot about Charlie Chaplin and his process. He was a genius. He was a perfectionist. He was also kind of a jerk and could cut people off at a moments notice. He was warm except when he was cold. Eyman makes an excellent case that Chaplin was everything in the dictionary expect a communist.

Eyman has written many books on celebrities and he is clearly comfortable in this genre. He knows when to focus on the little things which make someone tick. He also knows when to name drop someone to add a little spice to the narrative. If you gave me 1,000 guesses, I never would have suspected Walter Matthau would show up in this book. It's a great book and reading it is a breeze. Pardon me while I go watch The Kid.

(This book was provided an advance copy by Netgalley and Simon & Schuster.)

More in-depth and trustworthy than even Chaplin's autobiography, which even his family has admitted on occasion might be his novelized version of events. It's clear that Eyman spent years and years researching, interviewing, and digging into everything to do with Chaplin's life, his art, his relationships, and the persecution he faced throughout most of it.
I'm perfectly aware that this is only one side of a very complex individual and all that surrounds his actions and what is known and shared, so I'm trying to judge this book with that in mind. But even if he had been a miscreant, it was never proven in court and he was never convicted. The persecution of Chaplin mostly on the fact that some individuals with voice and power didn't like him is shameful any way you look at it. There are clear signs of abuse of power and Chaplin being used as a scapegoat to appease the loud voices.
It's also a very interesting angle from which to approach the radicalization of the ideals and morals of a few and how they can affect how the masses view things. I don't think it's what Eyman was going for, but it does make for a very interesting read in present times.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the excellent read!

Born in the UK, Charlie Chaplin, his brother, and mother, were in and out of the workhouse. Determined to rise out of poverty, Charlie began working as an actor and comedian. He quickly gained popularity, moved to America, and developed the character of the Little Tramp. He never lost the fear of poverty, and quickly gained the reputation of a miser. Additionally, Charlie loved younger women, causing a scandal with his affairs and marriages. In the beginning of the Red Scare, Charlie was labeled a communist, a charge he greatly denied. When he and his wife left the country on vacation, his reentry permit was revoked and he was denied entry back into the US.

The book was a bit slow. The author focused the story around Charlie's projects and movies, spending little time on his personal relationships. Charlie himself was a bit of a chameleon, constantly redefining himself depending on who he was speaking too. This made for a pretty evasive character. I never really got to know Charlie. Overall, 4 out of 5 stars.

I was given an advance reading copy (arc) of this book from NetGalley.com and the publisher in return for a fair review. Charlie Chaplin and The Little Tramp are both icons of cinema history. A pioneer in the film business, Chaplin helped create the Hollywood we know today. Born in poverty to a mentally ill mother and absent father, Chaplin and his brother, Syd, often lived on the streets in England as children. Charlie's rise to fame came in America where he created The Little Tramp--a silent screen character beloved the world over. Author Scot Eyman focuses on the years after World War II during the Cold War when government officials, who believed they saw Red, decided they no longer wanted him living in America. He never applied for citizenship feeling it was unnecessary to claim any specific country as his own. He loved America, made his fortune here, as well as his home. No specific charges were ever proved against him, but when he left the country in the early 1950s to attend his own movie premiere in London, these same officials banned him from returning. He spent the rest of his life in exile in Switzerland. In 1972, he was invited back to Los Angeles to accept an honorary Oscar for his contribution to film. He was warmly welcomed and graciously accepted the award but did not stay. Eyman brings a troubling part of Hollywood history front and center. It was a bit dry, but overall the story of Charlie Chaplin's banishment from U.S. soil was thoroughly researched and explained. The injustice done to The Little Tramp was nothing less than a travesty.

I knew little, or nothing, about Charlie Chaplin. I now know a whole lot about Chaplin and why he is considered a genius. What I did know, or thought I knew, about Charlie Chaplin, was that he was regarded as a nasty, no good, Communist who also chased women in his spare time. However, thanks to Scott Eyman’s excellent writing, I was able to gain a great understanding of the real man behind the myth. Eyman has written a balanced narrative about Chaplin’s life, his work, and so I am thankful for NetGalley for this opportunity to read about someone I otherwise would never have thought to meet! 4 stars for “Charlie Chaplin vs.America.”

I will tell you first that I am consumed by anything Hollywood in the Golden Age. I don't watch today's films, and probably never will. The true actors - Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Barbara Stanwyck, etc. and, of course, Chaplin -- have all left us; but their legacies are left behind, in hundreds, if not thousands, of films from the silent era to the 1960's (or such).

I have seen all of these films and own most of them; I am not shy about purchasing a classic film or making a new discovery; this is part of the charm of them. I can travel back in time whenever I want. Luckily, or perhaps a fortunate accident, Turner Classic Movies has recently shown two of Chaplin's classics: The Great Dictator and City Lights. Another channel, FMC, has also runs several of his silents, so I was able to watch the films (again) while reading this book. Lengthy, but definitely worth the read.

While I have read about Chaplin's troubles, never before have they been laid out in such a way as to make one not only admire him, but feel sorrow for him as well, because of the way our beloved (at least to me) United States treated him -- all because he was not a US citizen, and therefore, he must be a Communist (he was not). It was sad to read, because by all accounts, even though he was stingy in monetary matters (due to his upbringing), he was extremely generous to friends and coworkers.

Charlie Chaplin was an enigma unto himself. Born into poverty, he and his older brother Sydney developed a lifelong bond with each other, and while Syd had done fairly well, Charlie, due to the fact of his visions regarding film, had done much better. But it didn't come without a price: His first three marriages failed, and his work was all-consuming. He would do a hundred takes if it meant a better film.

What others may or may not know is that it was Chaplin, director D.W, Griffith, actors Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. who created Universal Studios. They developed and made their own films and those of others, becoming extremely wealthy in the process. This, of course, afforded Charlie the means to make those films he wished; and what films they were. While some may not be interested in silent films, none can dispute his "Little Tramp" was brilliant. It was this introduction into his early films that made me watch the others.

Charlie was married unhappily three times, and it was not until he met the 17-year-old Oona O'Neill (daughter of playwright Eugene O'Neill) that he finally found love. He married her when she turned eighteen, and the marriage lasted until his death. But even then he found problems as there were those in Hollywood and even Washington, D.C. who found him 'unacceptable' when it came to his private life. I will not go into the story of Joan Berry here, but you can read the entire tale in the book. I will say, however, that while Charlie may have had strong sexual proclivities, he never once took a minor where they shouldn't be.. He was not a predator. In all, he adored Oona and could not have survived without her.

Charlie was given a bum rap. if you will, by this country, all because they were unhappy with the fact that he wouldn't become a citizen (he considered himself a 'citizen of the world'), and didn't have the same sensibilities of others during the Red Scare -- which I will say, ruined the careers of many actors and others). When he retired to Switzerland, he was happy with his life, but longed to make more films, and did succeed in making two more, although they were not well-received by the critics nor the public. However, Charlie's brilliance could not stay buried forever, and years later he was received with open arms on all fronts.

Whatever you think about the puckish Mr. Chaplin, love or hate him, this biography will open your eyes to the type of person he was. It is not fawning over him, but tells the true tale of Charlie's life from birth to death, and everything that occurred in between, giving us a definitive tale of both the man and the genius. It has given me a renewed admiration. Highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for allowing me to read a copy of this book. I didn't know much about Charlie Chaplin so I was interested in this book, in hopes of finding out more about him. I don't think this book was my cup of tea. Not to say that others won't find it enjoyable, but it wasn't for me. I found it a bit slow and boring but that's just me.

An absolutely fascinating book on Charlie Chaplin - his life, his legacy, his struggles, and his controversies. I've loved Scott Eyman's work for awhile, and I was thrilled to discover this book about a figure from Old Hollywood that I've not been able to learn much about yet. Fantastic work from a master.

A very excellent biography of silent screen comedian Charlie Chaplin. This one concentrates on the reasons why his personal politics and personal life created a serious cooling off of his appeal in America.
This one has been written by a real pro. What could have been boring or presented in a droning fashion takes fascinating life in these pages. I have three other books on Chaplin but this one fascinated and charmed me nevertheless and even brought out new facts.

Scott Eyman delivers a great look into law, history and immigration as well as the life of one of the greatest comedic actors of all time in Charlie Chaplin vs. America. Eyman allows readers to see the experience of Chaplin and his fight against xenophobia and his fight for immigration rights. I really enjoyed Eyman’s book and hope to see what comes next!

I’ve read and enjoyed all of Eyman’s books and this one is no exception. An interesting and unusual take on Chaplin’s life(about which so much has already been written) concentration on his exile from the United States brought on by false accusations that he was a communist( he was far from one) and claims that he had paid for a paramour’s abortion and that he had an unsavory sex life. All of these accusations were politically motivated. That is that the politicians making these claims were motivated to do so to satiate their supporters and accrete power. Sound familiar? At once a fascinating look at an ever fascinating genius and a cautionary tale-this book is a winner. Read it!

Thanks to the good folks at Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for providing me with the ARC in return for my honest review.

Scott Eyman is my favorite Hollywood Biographer and so I was super excited to get his new book on Charlie Chaplin. This book is a very detailed look at a certain portion of his career and what led up to his fall from grace here in America. We get a small background of his life, which remarkably is similar to that of Charles Dickens and we come to understand a lot of the motivations behind his films, Chaplin was a sexual non-entity when he arrived in the US, but can to enjoy younger women - no, not 12 of 14 year old girls but girls in their late teens or 20"s. But this proved scandalous to certain people (the FBI and gossip columnist Hedda Hopper). And so no matter what Chaplin did he was hounded. They tried him for violation of the Mann Act when a Hollywood girlfriend came to NY (crossed state lines), and when that failed they found a rather unstable woman to bring paternity charges against him (the heck that the blood tests proved he wasn't the father). Then they attacked him as a Communist without any proof, attacked his making of The Great Dictator, Modern Times and any other movie he made. Eventually Chaplin gets a re-entry permit for him to travel to Europe to promote his move Limelight, and 2 days after he boards to ship to England he is informed that his permit is effectively revoked and he will be arrested if he returns to the US.. From hero to pariah in a few short years. This book is focused on these times and we get a Who's Who of Hollywood celebrities in the book, along with legendary columnists and politicians who are all out to get Chaplin, and a few who remain friendly to him. For both fans of Chaplin, as well as those who enjoy reading about the yesteryears of Hollywood and the film industry this book is a must and is a worthy addition to Eyman's catalog of works. It keeps up a good pace and there are many memorable parts about his life that I was unaware of until I read Eyman's book.. This is a definite "must read" and will be one of my top books for 2023!

I received a kindle copy of "Charlie Chaplin vs. America. from Netgalley. There have been plenty books about Charlie Chaplin including a memoir by Charlie Chaplin. This book is also a biography of Charlie Chaplin's life. Also writes about all the movies he has starred in or directed. This book includes Charlie Chaplin's being a victim of the vicious attacks on men and women in show business in the late 1940s into the 1950s, during the communism scares that bullies like Joseph McCarthy did to innocent people who were in show business. Many of their careers were destroyed by false accusations during this horrible time in history.Charlie Chaplin was one of the victims. He left the USA in the early 1950s and did not return for 20 years. This book writes about what this was like for Charlie Chaplin. It also writes of other parts of his life. Growing up poor and hungry in England even having to work in work houses as a child. His failed marriages then the very happy marriage to a woman over 30 years his junior. the Author Scott Eyman also shares the opinions of other actors and actresses he has worked with. He keeps this biography fair {I think ] tries not to go into mudslinging. I liked reading about this talented actor. Learning a bit more about Charlie Chaplin.