Stephen Spielberg is perhaps the most influential and well-respoected movie director of the 20th century. Yet little is known about the man, perhaps because he is not the typical Hollywood extrovert. This definitive biography breaks down Spielberg's life, from childhood to modernity, and details how each of his films correlates to his life (his childhood, specifically). Listening to the audiobook with the lights off, felt like watching a movie about the man's life, as opposed to reading about it. I will now watch his movies in a different light. ( )

Steven Spielberg: A Life in Films by Molly Haskell is part of the series Jewish Lives from Yale University Press. To quote the YUP site: "JEWISH LIVES is a major series of brief, interpretive biography designed to illuminate the imprint of eminent Jewish figures upon literature, religion, philosophy, politics, cultural and economic life, and the arts and sciences." In other words, this is not simply a biography of Steven Spielberg and it is even less a fan-driven pop biography. It is, as it was supposed to be, an "interpretive biography." Haskell, who was approached to write this book, not the other way around, does a wonderful job of providing an interpretive frame that at once takes Spielberg at his word when he said “everything about me is in my films” while making into a whole the fragmented parts of his story as it has been told in the past.

Haskell brings her usual sharp eye and broad range of ideas to this project and succeeds on almost every level. We get a better, more coherent, picture of Steven Spielberg as a person, a fimmaker and as a storyteller. We also come to understand how being Jewish factored into how he became who he is as well as how he tells his stories.

I listened to the audio version, which was satisfactory but I am the type of reader who probably prefers nonfiction in paper form for note-taking purposes. My only complaint, a small one, is that I would have preferred a female performer throughout the book since the book was written by a woman. I like Molly Haskell's work and her authorship was as big a factor in my interest as the object, Steven Spielberg. So to hear Haskell's words in a male voice just bothered me. That is my opinion, however, and should not be taken as a negative comment about the work Johnny Heller did here.

If a reader understands and is willing to approach this book for what it is, I would highly recommend this to everyone with an interest in film, Jewish Studies and contemporary intellectual history. There is enough here for a fan who would prefer a fandom-type bio to be satisfied as long as they remember that that is not the work's primary aim.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via LibraryThing Early Reviewers. ( )

What an incredible book. I like how it was written and the stories that went along with the movies. The insights with Mr. Spielberg were fascinating. He is a great writer and director, who has a unique way of tacking his projects. Now, I have not seen a lot of his movies, but now, I will look at them a bit differently and I bet I will enjoy the movies even more. Steven Spielberg is a very interesting, unique person. This is a great book and I do recommend it. ( )

Steven Spielberg: A Life in Films (Jewish Lives) by Molly Haskell is a biography of the prolific director. Ms. Haskell is a film critic and author.

I admired Steven Spielberg since he burst on to the big screen when I was a child. I remember eagerly anticipating the next Spielberg flick and reading every word I can in such magazines as Starlog (when it was a great film magazine) about his projects and special effects breakthroughs.

So you can understand my delight in getting Steven Spielberg: A Life in Films (Jewish Lives) by Molly Haskell. I can say that I’ve watched almost every Spielberg film out there, many with the enthusiasm of a teenager, so the book spoke to me.

Recently I re-watched the Indiana Jones movies with my kids. I was not looking forward to it because I wanted to remember those great movies as the groundbreaking extravaganzas I remember them (I ran to the theater after school on the opening day of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom). To my great delight the Indiana Jones movies are just as good today as I remembered them. The kids loved them (my son dressed up as Dr. Jones for Halloween), and I dare say that even if they were released today, as they were released originally, they’d pass muster with the fans and delight audiences.

Ms. Haskell wrote an interesting, witty book telling stories which I thought I knew but never connected the dots. While I don’t agree with every evaluation the author makes, I appreciate the honesty and thought that went into the narrative.

Mr. Spielberg’s Jewish story is very insightful and the author is obviously very interested in his journey as a proud Jew and a genius film maker. The author connects the director’s life experiences relative to the movies he was making at the time.

This is a great film book about one of our generation’s most notable and prolific directors. The book is insightful, well written, and frankly – just a lot of fun. I listened to the audio CD, narrated by Johnny Heller and Jo Anna Perrin who did a great job and kept my interest throughout.

I got this book for free in exchange for a review

For more reviews and bookish posts please visit my bookish blog at http://www.ManOfLaBook.com ( )

This audio book is a very enjoyable and well researched work about one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. Spielberg did not agree to an interview for this work. Ultimately it ends with Spielberg being categorized as a director/producer of moral relativist films and a Democratic fundraiser for the party which encourages racial and sexual diversity. A Life in Films has a weak and abrupt ending but is nonetheless a very well written and fast paced work. Johnny Heller, the narrator had several mispronunciations but overall was easy to listen to and was not distracting from the topic itself. Duration time was six and a half hours total.
Although it is considered close to a crime against humanity to assume authorial intent (an axiom of deconstruction theory), as long as a listener allows this as Spielberg’s life take shape, the audience will be home free to enjoy Haskell’s work. I personally consider almost of Spielberg’s films to be very important cultural statements by an American about America. By bringing Spielberg’s life to illuminate his many films, I found it worthwhile, though risky.
Spielberg’s career is handed very well with special emphasis on selected movies (AI, Schindler's List, ET, Jaws, Lincoln, Raiders, Empire of the Sun). The early films are shown as attempts by Spielberg to deal with his own family of origin issues (fear of monsters, childhood abandonment, religious phenomena, and aircraft). The latter films are depicted as his attempts to rectify past character deficiencies and the promotion more “Boy Scout” men and women of principled moral values (Bridge of Spies, Lincoln). This was well worth listening to and I wish I had been given the print version to review. This work is part of Tantor media’s Jewish Lives series. ( )