This volume provides a history of American cinema from the first of the "talkies" to the decline of the studio system. The largest section of the text covers the giants of American film direction including Welles, Hitchcock, Ford and Hawks, with a film-by-film breakdown of the career of each. This book I cannot put down. It is informative, controversial, exciting. Andrew Sarris leads the way in the field of American cinema. He makes you rediscover films you already knew and, best of all, guides you to new discoveries in the treasure trove of the movies' Golden Age. I continue to admire his unique vision.