This comprehensive and in-depth study delves into the life and works of one of modern films most celebrated, successful and intriguing auteurs, Christopher Nolan.

What is the most resilient parasite? Bacteria? A virus? An intestinal worm? An idea. Resilienthighly contagious. Once an idea has taken hold of the brain its almost impossible to eradicate. - Cobb, Inception

How has Nolan become this leading director? Is he the new Kubrick? What do audiences get out of his games?

Visually, he offers a steely science-fiction noir with the highlights of big stars and a magicians flourishes, whether he is tackling Victorian London or the far reaches of outer space. In narrative terms, his films twist and turn, provoking as many questions as they answer.

This book will look to crack open the magic box of Nolans twisting universe. As a character, he eludes easy answers. Veteran film author Ian Nathans research will lean into deciphering his cryptic pronouncements and motivations alongside the history and making of his films.

Examining both the making of and the inspiration behind his many, many hit films, fromThe Prestige(2006) to the hugely successful Batman films, through to his mind-bending science fiction works such asInception(2014) andTenet(2020). And just released in 2023, Oppenheimer,starring Cillian Murphy as the film's titular American scientist and his role in the development of the atomic bomb.

Filled with fascinating insights and illustrated throughout with cinematography from his visually stunning ouvre, this book offers a unique, important and unmissable insight into the mind of this most brilliant of directors.