Steven Spielberg: A Biography

This long-awited second edition of Joseph McBride's acclaimed 1997 biography of Steven Spielberg, the world's most popular and influential filmmaker, adds four new chapters chronicling the richly creative activities of Spielberg's recent years. The original edition was praised by the New York Times Book Review as "an exemplary portrait" written with "impressive detail and sensitivity"; Time called it "easily the finest and fairest of the unauthorized biographies of the director." Nigel Morris, author of the Cinema of steven Spielberg: Empire of Light, writes

"I constantly referred to the first edition of Joseph McBride's biography as an authoritative source of factual information, only to find myself re-reading whole sections, such is the compelling power of his storytelling and effortless prose. The second edition brings the narrative bang up to date. It covers such developments as Spielberg's emergence from being not merely one of the world's most highly commercial popular entertainers---an intriguing and important topic in itself---to his becoming a recognized serious filmmaker, as well as a public figure rubbing shoulders with presidents and prime ministers. The new material also traces the mixed fortunes of Spielberg's ambitious DreamWorks studio project and his artistic---and, equally high-profile---offscreen responses to the post-9/11 political climate.

"Like any great biographer, McBride is fascinated by his subject, but he never loses a judicious sense of critical detachment. The book is opinionated in the best possible sense, rigorously researched and authoritative in its judgments of both the filmmaker and the man. While McBride clearly has enormous respect and admiration for Spielberg's finest work as a director, when he is disappointed or dismayed by dubious aesthetic choices or political pronouncements he does not shy away from saying so. He effectively debunks myths that have become accreted to Spielberg's popular image, whether these have been propagated by publicists or used by hostile academics and media pundits to oppose him. Sensitive analysis of the films repeatedly offers insights into how they relate to Spielberg's life and, more significantly, the cultural and historical context of his activities. "With this tour de force, McBride remains the godfather of Spielberg studies."