Here is the story of Sir David Lean, one of the greatest moviemakers of all time, director of such epics as Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago, The Bridge on the River Kwai, and A Passage to India. Stephen M. Silverman spent the better part of a year meeting with Lean to secure firsthand information for this book. An intensely private man, Lean opened up to Silverman and shared with him the story of his life - from his Quaker upbringing, through his decade as Britain's star film editor, to his work as a director, earning him through his intelligent, literate films a reputation for perfection.

Lean's movies, which collected an unprecedented twenty-seven Academy Awards, are noted for their stunning pictorial content as well as their strong narrative flow, and many of Lean's colleagues have shared their personal recollections with the author, who has added a new afterword to the book. The memories and anecdotes from such film notables as Alec Guinness, Katharine Hepburn, Julie Christie, Maurice Jarre, John Mills, Omar Sharif, Judy Davis, and Sarah Miles serve to further enliven this already vivid biographical and critical study.

Katharine Hepburn starred in Summertime, Lean's first film to be shot entirely on location. Her Introduction discusses Sir David as both an incomparable director and a great friend.