Chaplin: A Life

by Stephen Weissman

An intimate portrait of the eminent silent-film star offers insight into the pivotal role of childhood tragedies in forming his personality and art, in an account that describes the poverty and parental alcoholism that marked his early years, his first achievements in British music halls, and his sudden success in America.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Film

315 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

A hard won two stars, almost a three. Not quite the biography I expected. Lots and lots of repetition. A poorly organized book. Bounces around too much. He spends, although important, way too much time on Charlie's parents especially his mother. What I didn't care for after a while is that the author endlessly analyzes everything. In fact, after a while I felt like I should be lying down on a couch in a psychiatrist's office while reading the book and writing a check every time I took a break from the book. I was very disappointed in the book.

[Сергей Бережной · Rating 4 out of 5]

Вейсман был психоаналитиком Чаплина в течение 20 лет, но в этой книге нет ни личных впечатлений о встречах с великим актёром, ни, тем более, сенсационных подробностей в нарушение «тайны исповеди». Судя по всему, Вейсман, который читал многие изданные биографии своего пациента, в том числе его автобиографии, в один прекрасный момент решил избавить исследователей творчества сэра Чарлза от некоторых расхожих заблуждений, которые те старательно переписывали друг у друга, а заодно оконтурить и закрасить ряд фигур умолчания, которые оставил сам сэр Чарлз. Понятно, что при этом Вейсман не мог ссылаться на свои медицинские записи, но определенно благодаря им он хорошо знал, какие вопросы и кому можно задать, чтобы получить нужные ответы, да ещё и подтвержденные документами из открытых источников. В итоге получилось интересно – настолько, что изначально настроенная против «публичного вытряхивания семейного белья» Джеральдина Чаплин признала книгу Вейсмана чуть ли не лучшим биографическим исследованием жизни её отца.

По-моему, однако, книга Вейсмана на «лучшую» не тянет – хотя бы потому, что охватывает в существенных подробностях только жизнь и творчество Чаплина до начала 1915 года, а все последующие события упоминает крайне бегло – два десятка страниц на шестьдесят лет, фактически, на весь период творческой зрелости. Основное и очень пристальное внимание автор уделяет детству Чаплина и его семье, сосредоточившись на том, какое влияние на становление Чарли имели непростые взаимоотношения Ханны Чаплин и Чарлза Чаплина-старшего друг с другом и с детьми. Если учесть, что эта тема самим Чаплиным была в автобиографии продуманно недораскрыта (чего стоит одна только его фраза «Судить о морали нашей семьи по общепринятым нормам было бы так же неостроумно, как совать термометр в кипяток»), а большинству исследователей глубоко влезть в неё мешал вполне понятный пиетет перед чаплинским гением (или, как в случае с Авенариусом, полная недоступность каких бы то ни было нетривиальных источников), заслуга Вейсмана в раскрытии этой темы неоценима. Даже простое введение в оборот найденных им свидетельств даёт возможность совершенно нового взгляда на чаплинские творческие мотивы, да к тому же Вейсман предлагает довольно интересные трактовки для известных противоречий в свидетельствах самого Чаплина о его жизни (например, он в ряде случаев дезавуировал свои уже опубликованные интервью). Лично для меня стало новостью, что Чаплин с детства страдал дислексией и вплоть до второй половины 1910-х годов плохо и мало читал и почти не писал, а тексты своих ролей в театральный период заучивал со слуха – это же даёт очень много для понимания того, почему он работал фильмы без ясного плана, часто начинал съёмки, имея лишь смутное представление о конечном результате и вдохновляясь лишь идеей о месте действия будущего фильма или даже просто каким-то конкретным гэгом. Возможно, именно поэтому так хороша была у него музыка, возможно, именно это сдерживало его от переключения от фильма-образа к фильму-речи, возможно, именно это обусловило «птичий» язык из озвучки «Новых времен» или «псевдонемецкий» из «Великого диктатора»…

При этом Вейсман ясно понимает, что его книга – это эпизод дискуссии, которая начата давно и закончится не скоро, и он обычно не претендует на «окончательность» заключений. Ряд тем этой дискуссии он поддерживает, ряд тем игнорирует – например, он совершенно не киновед и художественные аспекты чаплинского творчества он просто не трогает совсем, ограничиваясь почти исключительно разговором о событийной части биографии своего героя. Несколько раз он подчёркивает, что его заключения и предположения продиктованы его основной профессией. Книга открыто ориентирована на то, что с ней и с её автором будут спорить – и Вейсман добросовестно делает всё, чтобы этот спор был конструктивным.

Дай-то бог.

[Anthea Carson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlie Chaplin isn't just part of Hollywood history, he IS Hollywood History. Any depiction of Hollywood could likely include his hat and cane image. An impression of Charlie's character, the little tramp, one hundred years later would still be immediately recognized.

I never had much of an interest in him but I certainly knew who he was, and I would imagine that's how most people feel about Charlie Chaplin. On a whim, and because it was free on Netflix I watched the movie Chaplin with Robert Downey Jr recently, which peaked my interest in both Chaplin and the academy award winning actor who played him. So when I passed by the book Chaplin: A Life by Stephen Weissman I picked it up out of curiosity.

One of the things that intrigued me the most about Chaplin had been the love story of this girl he saw only a few times and couldn't forget for the rest of his life. There was something romantic and tragic about this that appealed to the story teller in me.

After reading Chaplin: A Life I am more intrigued than ever with this mysterious person who created the iconic character of the little tramp. It is very heart wrenching to know the childhood from which this creation emerged. His was a childhood so full of pain and tragedy it is hard to imagine. But he took that pain and turned it into art. And he was one of the greatest artists of all time, in my opinion, now that I have studied him a bit more, and watched some of his films like City Lights and The Kid.

I highly recommend this book to anyone even slightly interested in the history of Hollywood and film.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not know anything about Chaplin's life when I picked this up, but as I dipped into it I became fascinated by it. This is not a complete biography as it was written more as a psychoanalytic review of his early life and career, but it is very readable. He lived quite a life in his first 25 years or so.
2021 Popsugar Reading Challenge: A book with a black-and-white cover.

[John P · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not a traditional biography in that the author tries to psychoanalyze Chaplin after the fact using his films and other historical records for input. It is not especially well-written, leaving me confused in a couple spots. Also the book takes its sweet time chronicling Chaplin's childhood on up to about 1914 and then in just a relatively few pages speeds disappointingly in fast-forward to the end.

The pictures are fascinating - I wish there were more. (And of course there are oodles on the internet, along with many of his films.)

As to Chaplin himself: I don't get it. I don't understand how he became wildly and iconically successful. That's the reason I selected this book in the first place - to find out more about the man and his work. The reports I've always heard of Chaplin and his films use words such as 'genius', 'comedic master', 'wildly innovative', 'among the greatest if not THE greatest films ever' and more.

Now, I've seen his trademark 'walk' or waddle, and a lot has been made of it, but it does nothing for me. I've seen several of the his short films and aside from a couple giggles at the gratuitous Three-Stooges-like violence, nothing.

Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that he supplied something that audiences around the world liked and liked very much indeed. I have to assume that the something special had to be appreciated in its time and the mysterious something simply does not translate well into the 21st century.

[GoldGato · Rating 2 out of 5]

The life of Charlie Chaplin is given the once-over here by a psychoanalyst, which brings a new perspective to the usual celebrity bio. He is responsible for unearthing the possibility that Chaplin's mother had syphilis and this is why she was interred in a mental institution in the early 1900s.

While I can confirm this book was a page-turner, it isn't really a full life biography of Chaplin. The majority of the book focuses on the silent film star's childhood and parents. It then quickly dispenses with his flicks and ends with his success as a global media sensation. If you want to read more about his later life, you will have to find another bio, so I'm not sure why this book's title implies otherwise. I did appreciate the author's conjecturing to the clues of the evolution of The Tramp, but it feels as though the end of the book is a sudden cutoff...perhaps a second volume was intended?

Chaplin was a fascinating character. It's interesting that, arguably, the greatest film star of the Silent Era (Chaplin) and the greatest film star of the talkie era (Cary Grant) both had mothers who were admitted to psych wards, both were poor, both were English, both were abandoned, both had alcoholic fathers, both ended up in America, and both re-invented themselves to become legends. A different formula for success.

Book Season = Summer

[Kristina Hoerner · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not impressed by this new bio of Chaplin. The author's big story was the claim that Chaplin's mother's mental health issues were related to untreated syphilis. I would have thought that someone else would have discovered that in her medical history before now. I did not get drawn into the style of writing and the story only goes up to 1915, leaving out a lot of life for a man that lived into the mid 1970s.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking forward to reading this book. I heard about it on NPR and Faith Middleton raved about it. I love Chaplin's films and I wanted to learn more about him, but this book was just so depressing. It read like a research paper, which is fine if you're in the mood for that kind of stuff, but I wanted to get more out of it.

[Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

A disappointing retelling Chaplin's early years (mostly before he started in films) from familiar sources. Stick with Chaplin's own autobiography.

[Hele Israel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ilmselt pettub lugeja, kes ootab "Chaplini elust" kõmu, eraelu lahkamist ja muud "kollast" kraami. Raamatu on kirjutanud psühholoog, kes analüüsib Chaplini elu läbi tema filmide ja vastupidi ning raamatu eesmärk ongi näidata, kui palju kajastus Chaplini elu lugu tema filmides. Tähelepanu saab eelkõige Chaplini lapsepõlv, noorusaeg ja staariks saamine. Hilisemat elu raamat praktiliselt ei käsitle ning Chaplini kõmulised abielud jäävad kajastuseta. Ja see pole üldse vale tee, minule just meeldis lugeda analüüsi, mil moel sai Chaplinist rahvusvaheline staar ja kui osavalt ta oma elu ja kogemusi filmide süžeedes ära kasutas. Kinnitust saab ka omamoodi reegel, et staaridel on karm lapsepõlv, millest välja rabelemine on muinasjutuline ning lootusi sütitav teistelegi sarnastest tingimisutest tulevatele annetele. Kolme tärni peale jääb hinnang kohatise laialivalguvuse tõttu.

[Diego Palomino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Captivating

Though I grew up watching Chaplin films, I new very little about his life. In reading this book I learned that his life story is in his art. His beginning influences and traumatic events in his life are depicted in his films. I liked the way the book was structured, chronologically and making references to his influences and inspiration in his work. I also like the fact that the author focussed on the artist and his art, not gossip of his life.

[LA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simply put, I love Charlie Chaplin. I've been a huge fan of his for over 20 years. One reason he's so endearing is knowing about how his personal life influenced his profession. This book, written by an MD, offers an interesting narrative about various points in Chaplin's story that may not have been known and/or told before (such as Hannah's health issues).

A great book. Would love to read again.

[Virginia Corley · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was well written and wasnt what I expected. I learned things about Chaplin's childhood that I never thought anyone could go through. The fact that his mother was so I'll physically and mentally was a shock. Hats off to his brother syd. Being a guardian at any age is hard at his age near on immpossible

[Richard Schaefer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not quite the psychological analysis of Chaplin that it promises to be; in fact, it really only digs deep into such analysis a couple times, one of which is in the afterward. It is an important addition to Chaplin scholarship, since Weissman reveals certain details of Chaplin’s mother’s health that David Robinson chose to leave hidden (namely that Charlie’s mother had neurosyphilis). He spends a lot of the book on Chaplin’s childhood, drawing fairly obvious connections to Chaplin’s films (he liked to rescue women because he wished he could rescue his mother, for example), but then abruptly drops the narrative after Chaplin went independent and started making the majority of his most well-regarded films. An odd choice, and it makes this feel like only half a book, with the second half offered as a rushed summary. I wish Weisman had dug deeper.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m normally wary of biographies that attempt to put their chosen subject “on the couch.” I know it’s tempting, when writing about artists, writers, or other creative people to try to view their work through the gauze of life experience, explaining their art in the context of childhood traumas, distant parents, or failed relationships. There are some no-brainers out there, certainly — one could hardly write about Edgar Allan Poe or Vincent Van Gogh, to name only two, without looking into inner demons that ended up screaming at the public from the page or canvas.

It gets harder, however, with figures that, for the most part, aren’t quite as haunted or tormented. But that doesn’t mean biographers haven’t tried. Some Disney biographers, for example, have claimed that Walt Disney obviously had a contempt for women and deep-seated abandonment issues, since several of his early films featured evil mother-figures or mothers who are dead or otherwise unavailable. It doesn’t matter that Disney’s own life story doesn’t really seem to bear that out; once you’ve got him on the couch, you can use his body of work to explain away anything. That was the sort of thing that nearly ruined David Michaelis’s otherwise dynamite Schulz and Peanuts for me — Michaelis tried, I thought, a bit too hard to use the Peanuts strip to explain Schulz’s psyche. It was a valiant effort, but I just didn’t buy it.

And that, ultimately, is my problem with On The Couch biographies: I don’t like being told that every inch of an artist’s output — whether it’s on film, on audiotape, on canvas, or on the printed page — is a channeling of some remote glob of their psyche, or reflects a subconscious effort to work out some personal issue. I believe you can understand an artist’s life by looking at his work; it’s more difficult and dangerous, however, to try to use an artist’s work to explain away an artist’s life. Ideally, one must view the artist through the prism of both the life and the art together.

That’s a roundabout way of saying that I was skeptical of Dr. Stephen Weissman’s Chaplin: A Life. It’s true that Chaplin, with his mess of a private life and in-your-face politics, practically begs his biographers to put him on the sofa — a challenge to which Chaplin biographer David Robinson all but explicitly refused to rise. But on the other hand, I did not want to be told that every Chaplin film was merely another psychological exercise in which Charlie either consciously or subconsciously tried to come to terms with some childhood trauma.

Well. In his first chapter, Weissman — a for real psychiatrist, and not just playing one on TV — immediately put such concerns to rest. Reading every Chaplin film or sketch as a therapy session, says Weissman,

“. . . does little to advance our undertstanding of how the creative process operated . . . It assumes that the comic mind operates as a seething id-cauldron automatically transforming childhood fears into schoolboy gags which are periodically belched and farted up from the steamy depths of the unconscious.”

Bingo. That’s exactly what I wanted to hear — and that’s precisely why Weissman’s book works so spectacularly well. Weissman doesn’t explain away every moment on film in psychological terms; rather, he helps the reader understand why Chaplin makes particular comedic or artistic decisions, and where in his art Chaplin has borrowed or paid homage to his parents, mentors, rivals, and the London stage.

Weissman is particularly convincing in helping the reader understand some of the broader themes of Chaplin’s work — a particularly high point is his examination of City Lights as an opportunity for Chaplin to, at last, redeem both his mother and his father. But what’s important is that Weissman isn’t trying to tell us that Chaplin did all these things as an act of psychic cleansing; rather, he’s helping us see where life experience has influenced some of the artistic decisions Chaplin made.

Further he doesn’t get you in the weeds on psychobabble; Weissman’s language is real, and readable — no long ramblings on Freud or lectures on id suppression or whatever. His themes are larger than that, which is why you’ll find them more thought provoking — and even where you don’t agree, he hasn’t become so mind-numbingly technical that you think he’s overreaching. Weissman’s so agreeable, in fact, that it’s like watching Chaplin’s movies with a good friend who’s got a particular insight into a film and doesn’t mind at all if you disagree with him. Enjoy the film anyway, Weissman would probably say.

In a lively afterword, Weissman also does something no other Chaplin biographer has yet done: he’s dared to accept an extended 1915 interview — later published as Charlie Chaplin’s Own Story before being squashed and disavowed by Chaplin — as a reliable text. It’s a primary source detective story, and Weissman will tell you convincingly why he believes biographers, and readers, can believe it . . . even when Chaplin himself tries to tell you otherwise.

[Ron Popp · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main focus is on how his childhood influenced his films. A well researched book but it’s reads more like the author is trying to persuade the reader than an actual biography. Still a good read

[Mike Trippiedi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book felt incomplete. The author goes into great detail of Chaplin's early life in poverty, as well as his films with Keystone. Then he rushes through the rest of his life, completely skipping over his marriages. The biggest crime of all, though, is that Edna Purviance is never mentioned. Not even once. There is one picture of her with Chaplin, and her name doesn't even make it to the caption. For a book that claims to psychoanalyze Chaplin, one would think there would be something on Ms. Purviance. Chaplin, himself, has said what an impact she had on his life. I am stumped why the author has erased her. "Chaplin: A Life" is far from terrible. In fact, it's often quite good. It just doesn't feel finished.

[Iceman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Se há personagem que todos conhecemos é, indiscutivelmente, Charlot, o “Adorável Vagabundo” que encantou gerações e que, cem anos depois do seu surgimento, continua a fazer rir quem assiste aos seus mudos filmes.

Charles Spencer Chaplin nasceu no dia 16 de Abril de 1889 em Londres. Filho de dois actores que chegaram a ser bastante conhecidos e apreciados (Hannah Chaplin e Charlie Chaplin Sénior), teve um início de infância dourado que brutamente terminou quando, aos 7 anos, se viu recluso num orfanato. Conforme Chaplin referiu muitos anos mais tarde, “a minha infância terminou aos 7 anos”, facto que teve um enorme impacto na sua vida e que teria enormes repercussões na sua brilhante carreira.

Sai do orfanato dois anos depois, indo viver para umas águas furtadas com a sua mãe, actriz caída no esquecimento e condenada a viver miseravelmente de trabalhos de costura, e com o seu irmão mais velho, Sydney Chaplin. Na verdade, Sydney Chaplin era seu meio irmão por parte da mãe, facto que é explicado neste livro.

Inicia-se um périplo terrível de fome e miséria numa busca constante pela sobrevivência. Em todo o caso os três lá iam sobrevivendo e, com cerca de 14 anos, Chaplin começa a tentar a sua sorte no teatro de comédia, iniciando-se aí uma carreira fulgurante que o levou ao estrelato e ao topo do mundo.

Nesta obra biográfica, Weissman escalpeliza praticamente toda a carreira de Charles Chaplin, dando especial atenção aos primeiros 25 anos da vida de Chaplin. Nesse sentido, conhecemos a sua dura e triste infância e percebemos o quanto lutou por um sonho que era também um dom, pois ela tinha características que, por si só, o tornavam um artista. Numa época onde o cinema estava em estado embrionário, Charles Chaplin transportou para o cinema os alicerces da pura arte teatral britânica e foi o pioneiro dos fundamentos da técnica de actuação cinematográficas, numa época onde técnica era algo que pouco existia.

É inegável a importância de Charlie Chaplin e do seu alter ego Charlot para a industria do cinema. Charlie Chaplin, em poucos anos, transformou a industria do cinema, que era uma actividade associada à gentalha, numa industria altamente rentável e tida em consideração pela sociedade. Até aos dias de hoje, Charlie Chaplin é considerado por muitos como o melhor actor de todos os tempos. Independentemente de o ser ou não, o certo é que Chaplin transportou a sua vivência e poder de observação para a sua arte, legando-nos filmes de enorme qualidade cómica e dramática que continuam a encantar.

Este é pois uma obra biográfica de enorme qualidade, onde nos é dado a conhecer o actor por detrás de Charlot. A criança pobre e miserável que com a sua força de vontade e as suas motivações, foi desbravando caminho num mundo elitista, mostrando-nos também que tudo pode ser possível, desde que acreditemos.

“Chaplin é, indiscutivelmente, o mais importante artista criado pelo cinema.” Woody Allen

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

While reading this often riveting account of Chaplin's personal life and professional career, I was reminded of a passage in Walt Whitman's poem, "Song of Myself": "Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes." That can certainly be said of Chaplin who overcame a truly miserable childhood, mastered the skills needed to achieve extraordinary success on stage, completed an especially difficult transition from performing in front of a live audience to performing for the lens of a camera, then became arguably the greatest film actor ever while mastering the skills needed to write and direct his own films.

Throughout his narrative, Weissman cites a number of different sources who offer a variety of perspectives on Chaplin's life and art. For example, here is what Alistair Cooke once observed when discussing Chaplin's identification with Dickens: "Charles Chaplin was Charles Dickens reborn...there is an eerie similarity between [the novel] Oliver Twist and the first 60 pages...of Chaplin's Autobiography. But as a reincarnation of everything spry and inquisitive and Cockney-shrewd and invincibly alive and cunning, Chaplin was the young Dickens in the flesh." Here is what Sigmund Freud once noted: "In the last few days, Chaplin has been in Vienna...He is undoubtedly a great artist; certainly he always portrays one and the same figure; only the weakly poor, helpless, clumsy youngster for whom, however, things turn out well in the end. Now do you think for this role he has to forget about his own ego? On the contrary, he always plays only himself as he was in his dismal youth."

[Yasmin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was very, very disappointing. Mr.Weissman took the reader as far as Charlie Chaplin's career with Essanay and then came to a surprising halt. He touched very briefly with the later movies and Chaplin's exile but not much more than that. He didn't really tell the reader anything new other than Hannah Chaplin's illness may have been a result of what could be assumed a sexually transmitted disease. But he gives no real evidence that she went or not to South Africa or how long that she was there or that she contracted this disease. Is it some how impossible that poverty was her crippling disease as serious and deadly as a sexually transmitted disease. As always with Mr. Chaplin's life I was left with more questions than answers. In his autobiography Chaplin says that his mother made sure him and his brother had a cultivated accent of the gentry but Mr. Weissman persists that Chaplin had a cocknay accent that people had some trouble understanding him. Chaplin also said that his heritage included Romani (travelling people) from his mother's side, Mr. Weissman didn't mention this either. All in all I'm not sure why this book got as much praise as it has.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look at Mr. Chaplin from a psychoanalytical viewpoint, dealing primarily with his childhood influences. His father and mother were both stars on the London music hall stage, but both were also very troubled human beings. Charlie, Sr. was an alcoholic and Hannah developed syphilitic psychoses. It's amazing that Charlie came out of this at all, much less to world acclaim. The author, however, does not deal with Charlie's personal life at all, just the impact that his childhood had on his talent. For what it is, it's well written, but I wanted more personal omsight.

[Scooter Chick · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best and most compassionate books about Chaplin qritten, with the approval of his family. Intro written by his daughter Geraldine Chaplin, explaining how and why they felt that Dr. Weissman's (a well respected analyst) study needed to be published.

For Chaplin scholars, an excellent read, I highly recommend it. I have studied Chaplin, and read every book by or about him, for 45 years, and this book gave me even more respect for him and how he succeeded over adversity, both personally and professionally to become one of the most loved film artists in the history of cinema.

[Paula Hebert · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had just read Sunnyside and so was was curious to know more about Chaplin, so when I saw this book in the library I picked it up. It's written by a psychologist, and so relates all of Chaplins work to his early life and parents,which were traumatic to the extreme. although very informative, it is very dry, like reading a patient's file. It could have used a little more style, in my view. but if you are interested in Chaplin, you'll enjoy the info.

[Karenbike Patterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of the book focused on Chaplin until he went out on his own. His mother was an actress turned mental patient and his father was an actor turned alcoholic. Charlie and his brother Syd were foraging for food, turned into an orphanage and kicked out of the house by their step mother. When he got started in music halls his life got better and he hit it big in his early twenties. The rest of the book focuses on how he developed his craft by using his experiences as a child.

[Dkeslin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by a psychiatrist, Stephen Weissman. this look at the motivations and early life experience as a poor lad in London with an alcoholic stage father and a struggling mother, reveals the influences that made Chaplin the greatest and most successful comic in cinematic history. Great writing and analysis. A wonderful look at the early years of film development and the silents.

[Jinny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything I always wanted to know about one of the most influential people of the 20th century. It is no surprise the man composed music that he could not even read. The author shows obvious reverence for Chaplin's genius, handles his subject with tenderness. I walked away from this book feeling like I knew more about this man than I was ready for.

[Rose Ann · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not particularly well written, not particularly well-organized. Didn't finish it. The author's writing style was a barrier. Even though Chaplin's own daughter wrote the intro for it, I would not recommend the book.

[Diego · Rating 5 out of 5]

We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity; more than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost.

Chaplin, made me see life from a totally different point of view. Thanks for that.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting psychoanalytic account of Chaplin's life and work, with a lot of interesting detail about his childhood.

[Fernando · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genial!