Publisher's Weekly: Chaplin: A Life

[Bruce Calvert]

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6604015.html?industryid=47159

Nonfiction Reviews

Chaplin: A Life Stephen Weissman. Arcade, $27.99 (320p) ISBN
978-1-55970-892-0

Weissman, professor at the Washington School of Psychiatry, examines
Charlie Chaplin's life and work from a psychoanalytical perspective.
Believing in “using a life to read a film and a film to read a life,”
Weissman focuses on Chaplin's childhood and early career, giving scant
attention to his later adult life. Most telling is the relationship
with his mother. Her madness, brought on by starvation and syphilis,
Weissman believes, manifests itself in Chaplin's films with a
recurring theme: the rescue of a downtrodden female. For example, City
Lights is a “childhood rescue fantasy” of saving his parents, while
Limelight is filled with references to his alcoholic father. Weissman
uncovers the source for the “shabby gentility” of the Little Tramp, as
well as the development of that extraordinary character. En route, he
paints an engaging if narrowly focused portrait of how a cinema artist
is created and how he practices his craft. (Jan.)

--
Bruce Calvert
Visit the Silent Film Still Archive
http://www.silentfilmstillarchive.com

[Bruce Calvert]

Mr. Weissman sent me this information about his book...

An in-depth psychological study of the formative childhood
experiences of the comedian's early years, Chaplin A Life traces the
evolution of a former Cockney slum urchin from an invulnerable child
into an invincible screen character. This book's publication date is
November 1st but it can be ordered now on Amazon.com (see below).

ADVANCE REVIEWS

"A fresh entry in the evergreen field of works devoted to Charlie
Chaplin. If ever an artist's life lent itself to psychoanalysis, it's
Chaplin's. . . . Weissman lends dimension to the classics . . . and
demonstrates Chaplin's ability to transform family heartbreak into
film comedies. . . . With lean, energetic prose, Weissman brings this
colorful theatrical period to life. . . . He o ffers vivid
sketches . . .and carefully follows the confluence of several artists
that lead to the creation of the Chaplin's iconic Little Tramp.
Throughout the book,the author caps exhaustive sourcing with an
overlay of insightful observations about Chaplin's creative process.
Find space on the crowded Chaplin shelf for this perceptive, literate
take on the great screen clown."
--Kirkus Reviews

“Weissman uncovers the source for the “shabby gentility” of the Little
Tramp, as well as the development of that extraordinary character. En
route, he paints an engaging…portrait of how a cinema artist is
created and how he practices his craft.”
--Publishers Weekly

To Learn More About This Book or Order It Now::
Click Here: Check out "Chaplin: A Life"
http://www.chaplinalife.com/

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History's Lessons: Songs & Scenes from the 1930s

The Little Tramp's message on how to emotionally
survive economic hardship:
Click Here: Check out "YouTube - Smile, Charlie Chaplin , Modern
Times, 1936"

FDR's cognitive therapist-like wisdom on how to cope emotionally
with economic insecurity.
"We have nothing to fear but fear itself."

Click Here: Check out "YouTube - "Happy Days are Here Again!" (Ben
Selvin & Crooners, 1930)"