Charlie Chaplin vs. America

”“Fun to read… . Eyman is completely sympathetic to Chaplin, and he makes the case that we should be, too.” – Louis Menand * The New Yorker *“Seventy years later, Chaplin’s exile seems even more shocking than when it occurred… . In Charlie Chaplin vs. America the film historian Scott Eyman… . Makes clear how much the government’s crusade cost us all.” – Jeremy McCarter * The Wall Street Journal *“one of the finest surveys of the man and the artist ever written… . A gem of a book.” – Leonard Maltin“A brilliant must-read about the epic and turbulent life and times of a cinematic titan.” * Kirkus Reviews (starred review) *“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. Scott Eyman captures his greatness and his flaws, and deftly traces the campaign of the FBI and its right-wing allies to destroy him, in a book that resonates with relevance for our own troubled era.” – Glenn Frankel, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of Shooting Midnight Cowboy“Once upon a time, no one in America was more beloved than comedian and filmmaker Charles Chaplin. Puritanism joined with other reactionary forces to banish him abroad and destroy his brilliant career. Scott Eyman’s powerful book reclaims Chaplin’s greatness and deftly autopsies this shameful chapter in our film history, which has echoes in the ‘cancel culture’ of modern times.” – Patrick McGilligan, author of Woody Allen: A Travesty of a Mockery of a Sham“A refreshing, almost startling, new look at the great Chaplin. Scott Eyman has sifted all the evidence to be had, curated the most telling points, and presented them in the most insightful and readable manner possible. If you want to know Charles Chaplin in absolutely all his shades and variations, this is the book you need to read.” – James Curtis, author of Buster Keaton: A Filmmaker’s Life“Better than any other biographer that has gone before, Eyman gets underneath Chaplin and explains that complex personality.” * San Francisco Chronicle *

Scott Eyman is the author or coauthor of eighteen books, including the bestseller John Wayne and Pieces of My Heart and You Must Remember This with actor Robert Wagner. Eyman, formerly the literary critic at The Palm Beach Post, also writes book reviews for The Wall Street Journal, and has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Chicago Tribune. He and his wife, Lynn, live in West Palm Beach.