This book looks at the film and television genre that made Clint Eastwood a star: westerns. The author discusses in detail the production, impact, influences, and successes (both critical and commercial) of each of Eastwood’s films. Neibaur also examines the continued success and influence of his films on the western film genre.

Film historian Neibaur surveys Eastwood’s westerns, from the 1959–65 television series Rawhide to Sergio Leone’s 1967 classic A Fistful of Dollars to 1992’s Oscar-winning Unforgiven. It’s an interesting approach to Eastwood’s cinematic career; although both as an actor and as a director, Eastwood has tackled a wide variety of subjects and styles, he’s probably most commonly associated with westerns, and it was in that genre that, Neibaur suggests, Eastwood defined himself as an actor and director. Charting the production of each film, its cultural impact, and its impact on Eastwood’s career, the book shows us a working actor who became a movie star, a filmmaker, and a cultural icon. The book isn’t just a history of Eastwood’s career in westerns; because he was so involved in the genre, the text is also, in some ways, a history of screen westerns from the early 1960s to the early 1990s. For fans of books about moviemaking, and especially Eastwood’s fans, it’s a real winner.

In The Clint Eastwood Westerns, Neibaur devotes a chapter to each of Eastwood’s fourteen western movies, which range from Leone’s 'Dollars' trilogy to the musical 'Paint Your Wagon' to the Civil War melodrama 'The Beguiled. Each chapter summarizes and analyzes the film in question, with emphasis on how every film fits into the western genre and how they furthered Eastwood’s career. It’s particularly fascinating to read how Eastwood’s career developed beginning with the chapter on 'High Plains Drifter', the first western that Eastwood directed as well as starred in. The evolution of his directorial style can be seen as the chapters progress, and Neibaur points out and analyzes in detail specific stylistic choices that Eastwood makes as a director and how they impact the film. . . . There are several more chapters throughout the book titled 'Between the Westerns' that discuss the movies Eastwood made outside of the western genre, like what is perhaps his most iconic role, that of Detective Harry Callahan in 1971’s 'Dirty Harry' (and a string of sequels). That role, as Neibaur points out, defined the antihero persona Eastwood had developed in films like the 'Dollars' trilogy more than any of his other characters, and was a major influence on his future western films despite not belonging to that genre. A final chapter titled 'After the Westerns' details Eastwood’s career since his Oscar-winning final western, 'Unforgiven'. These chapters, while not specifically about Eastwood’s western movies, provide the reader with a greater understanding of his career as a whole, and how his westerns and non-westerns influenced each other. Sprinkled throughout the book are many lovely images ranging from lobby cards to behind-the-scenes photos, while excerpts from Neibaur’s own interviews with such people as director Ted Post provide further insight into the films and Eastwood’s method of working. With an abundance of fresh material and intriguing film critiques, The Clint Eastwood Westerns is an engaging read for film fans and the definitive book on one of the western genre’s biggest icons.

Clint Eastwood is a cinema icon, of course. As such, there have been numerous books about his life and career. This book by James L. Neibaur is a little different in that it focuses primarily on the westerns which made him an international star, a genre he would frequently revisit throughout most of his career. If you're a fan of those films, The Clint Eastwood Westerns is a must-read. The book chronicles his early career as Rowdy Yates in the Rawhide TV series through what is likely his final western, Unforgiven. Presented chronologically, each film is given its own chapter, all loaded with behind-the-scenes information, critical analysis and cultural impact. . . .The Clint Eastwood Westerns is a great read in which we develop further appreciation for not only his undisputed classics, but those he managed to make successful during eras when the western was essentially a dead genre.

James L. Neibaur is a film historian and former educator who has written hundreds of articles. He is the author of several books on film, including The Fall of Buster Keaton (2010), Early Charlie Chaplin (2012), The Elvis Movies (2014), and James Cagney Films of the 1930s (2014) and coauthor with Terri Niemi of Buster Keaton’s Silent Shorts: 1920–1923 (2013).