As an actor and director, Clint Eastwood has earned his status as an icon of the silver screen many times over.

Now, as he prepares for his 80th birthday tomorrow, his life and work is celebrated by renowned film critic and documentary film-maker Richard Schickel in the lavishly illustrated tome Clint: A Retrospective (Sterling, £25). In the introduction, Clint reveals his film-making philosophy: "My criteria when committing to a picture are simple: is it something I'd like to work on or I'd like to see? So far, that's worked out very well." It's easy to forget that this cinematic titan started out, as many actors did in those days, as an easy-on-the-eye piece of beefcake!