This book traces the career of the maverick American director John Frankenheimer from his early days in television and his debut film, The Young Stranger in 1956, to Birdman of Alcatraz, The Manchurian Candidate, Grand Prix and The Fixer, to the most recent projects for HBO and his latest film, Ronin.

Author Gerald Pratley, the film critic and commentator, has assembled over the years interviews with Frankenheimer in which the director talks both informatively and entertainingly about his career. The result is a book which not only examines the films in detail but also provides commentary from the director himself, thus making this a very personal study of a filmmaker and his work. Pratley also offers fascinating first-hand 'On Location' reports for many of the films.

This is the definitive book on Frankenheimer, a director whose work has in turn been daring, extravagant, innovative and always interesting. This book is also about being an American film director during the past four decades - it speaks clearly of the very particular world that makes the most extraordinary demands on individuals and will be of interest to those who want to know more about not just Frankenheimer but also the mechanics of film-making and about the American film industry of recent times.