James Cameron

James Cameron has earned more at the box office than any other filmmaker, a fact that is easy to overlook. This book asks how he got there and what gives his work such wide appeal. Among the celebrated directors who have pushed cinema into new territory, he is seen as the figure standing above the rest. He made Titanic, the highest-grossing film ever, and then made Avatar, which went on to surpass it.

The book also examines the smaller details, which are just as striking as the headline achievements. Cameron's commitment to the medium seems almost limitless, and the stories from behind his productions are as large as the films. Much of The Abyss was shot underwater inside a decommissioned nuclear plant, a single story that could carry a book of its own.

Organised as an illustrated, film-by-film biography, the volume moves from The Terminator through Aliens and on to Avatar 2. The result is a richly visual portrait of the most popular director in movie history.