Tramp: The Life of Charlie Chaplin

I just finished reading this book and couldn't put it down! It is a truly engrossing look at the life, and the times, of an artist who truly defined the art of film-making through his work. I found Ms. Milton's work to be painstakingly thorough, even-handed, and balanced. She really draws you in until you feel as though you're looking over Chaplin's shoulder throughout the book. A truly great read for any buff of Chaplin and/or old-time Hollywood. BRAVO!However, I do have one gripe...Ms. Milton's effort deserved a more diligent proofreading, prior to publication.All in all, though, this is a wonderful book.

Joyce Milton's painstakable bio on Chaplin is amazing. She writes over 500 small-print pages of absolute detail from David Robinson's cover-all-ground novel, to Richard Attenborough's bio-pic "CHAPLIN". Though Chaplin fans may be getting tired of endless bio's, she says all the same, but with new detail and some new facts. I would recommend this story of rags-to-riches to anybody. ***** out of five

An unflinching look at Chaplin, the person. Often surprising, but never dull reading. In a word, very fair in the author's treatment of Chaplin. Highly recommend for those who want a more truthful history of the Little Fellow's life.

Although parts of this biography of Sir Charles Chaplin are very. . . distrubing, it does also present Chaplin at his best. It is a great read for one wanting a little more of the personal take on the early history of Hollywood, and its colorful characters. The biography also deals with the blacklisting that occurred during the McCarthy communist inquisition, and Chaplin's stance and involvement. If you want to read nothing but the nice things in Chaplin's life, do not even open the front cover of this copy. If your admiration of Chaplin is for his work, and you can handle a tarnished side of Chaplin, then by all means, read this book!

I am one of those heretics who doesn't think The Great Chaplin is all that great. Keaton, Linder, yeah--but Chaplin? Maudlin and self-indulgent. After reading this absorbing book, I also realized what a nasty piece of work he was as a person--the story about the cat on M. Beaucaire put me on edge for days!