Why am I passionate about this?

Kubrick has fascinated me since I watched Paths of Glory at MoMA, one of Stanley’s old haunts, in the early 1960s. I first saw 2001 in London and then once a year after that back home in New York. I taught courses devoted to Kubrick, and when I taught the course online at the University of Virginia, welcomed his brother-in-law, Jan Harlan, to talk to us long distance. With each move, I drew closer and closer to our subject. I visited the Manor at Childwickbury and had lunch with Kubrick’s wife, Christiane. I studied documents in the Kubrick Archive in London. There became a point of recognizing myself in Kubrick himself and his films. A biography was inevitable. 


I wrote

Kubrick: An Odyssey

By Robert Kolker, Nathan Abrams,

Book cover of Kubrick: An Odyssey

What is my book about?

An in-depth biography of one of the 20th century’s great artists. We explore Kubrick’s beginnings as a photographer through his…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Stanley Kubrick: American Filmmaker

Robert P. Kolker Why did I love this book?

Until David wrote his book, there hadn’t been a biography of Kubrick in over twenty years. While his book is short, it is very readable, and I found it the most intriguing of the short biographies.

Mikics conducted new interviews and visited Kubrick’s archive in London. His readings of Kubrick’s films are precise and elegant.

By David Mikics,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Stanley Kubrick as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An engrossing biography of one of the most influential filmmakers in cinematic history

"A cool, cerebral book about a cool, cerebral talent. . . . A brisk study of [Kubrick's] films, with enough of the life tucked in to add context as well as brightness and bite."-Dwight Garner, New York Times

"An engaging and well-researched primer to the work of a cinematic legend."-Library Journal

Kubrick grew up in the Bronx, a doctor's son. From a young age he was consumed by photography, chess, and, above all else, movies. He was a self-taught filmmaker and self-proclaimed outsider, and his films exist…


Book cover of Stanley Kubrick Director: A Visual Analysis

Robert P. Kolker Why did I love this book?

I find in this early book on Kubrick by someone who was his friend an in-depth analysis of the director’s style.

But given that the author also knew Kubrick, we found that it was filled with insight from someone who had visited his house and got to know his family. This, until recently, was incredibly rare in the writing about Kubrick.

By Alexander Walker, Sybil Taylor, Ulrich Ruchti

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Stanley Kubrick Director as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An exclusive window on one of the most brilliant-and most secretive-filmmakers in history. No moviemaker has kept his world so tightly sealed against intruders as Stanley Kubrick. While many of his films have turned into modern metaphors-we speak of "a 2001 world" or "a Clockwork Orange society"-the man himself has withdrawn into his own obsessive visions. Few have known him personally; fewer still have gained his confidence and seen him at work. For over thirty years, Alexander Walker, a renowned film historian, has been one such privileged observer. Stanley Kubrick Directs first appeared in 1971, giving readers the most authoritative…


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Book cover of The Extraordinary Journey of David Ingram: An Elizabethan Sailor in Native North America

The Extraordinary Journey of David Ingram by Dean Snow,

An ordinary sailor named David Ingram walked 3600 miles from Mexico to Canada over the course of eleven months in 1568-9. There, he and two companions were rescued by a French ship on the Bay of Fundy. They were the first Englishmen to explore the interior of North America.

English…

Book cover of Kubrick: The Definitive Edition

Robert P. Kolker Why did I love this book?

Kubrick was notoriously private about his work, but he opened up to the French critic Michel Ciment. Over the years, the two formed a close relationship, and it is clear in this book.

I found it to be full of Kubrick’s clearest thinking about his work and as personal about it as he ever was.

By Michel Ciment, Gilbert Adair (translator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Kubrick as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The classic study of Kubrick--available once again and fully updated

If Stanley Kubrick had made only 2001: A Space Odyssey or Dr. Strangelove, his cinematic legacy would have been assured. But from his first feature film, Fear and Desire, to the posthumously released Eyes Wide Shut, Kubrick created an accomplished body of work unique in its scope, diversity, and artistry, and by turns both lauded and controversial.

In this newly revised and definitive edition of his now classic study, film critic Michel Ciment provides an insightful examination of Kubrick's thirteen films-including such favorites as Lolita, A Clockwork Orange, and Full…


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Book cover of The Stanley Kubrick Archives

Robert P. Kolker Why did I love this book?

This is an amazingly illustrated book filled with material that was previously only housed on Kubrick’s estate. The material is now available, but you have to travel to London to see it.

This book provides loads of stills as well as images of material that Kubrick collected over the years in the making of his films. There are many useful essays and other writings that really helped us in our understanding of the director, his life, and his films.

By Alison Castle (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Stanley Kubrick Archives as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In 1968, when Stanley Kubrick was asked to comment on the metaphysical significance of 2001: A Space Odyssey, he replied: "It's not a message I ever intended to convey in words. 2001 is a nonverbal experience... I tried to create a visual experience, one that directly penetrates the subconscious with an emotional and philosophic content."

Now available as part of our Bibliotheca Universalis series, The Stanley Kubrick Archives borrows from the director's philosophy. From the opening sequence of Killer's Kiss to the final frames of Eyes Wide Shut, it allows the masterful visuals of Kubrick's films to impress through a…


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Book cover of A Long Way from Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France

A Long Way from Iowa by Janet Hulstrand,

This memoir chronicles the lives of three generations of women with a passion for reading, writing, and travel. The story begins in 1992 in an unfinished attic in Brooklyn as the author reads a notebook written by her grandmother nearly 100 years earlier. This sets her on a 30-year search…

Book cover of Stanley Kubrick: A Biography

Robert P. Kolker Why did I love this book?

I loved this biography of the director, the first of its kind, which is filled with loads of anecdotes, and curious insights based on its author chatting to people Kubrick new.

I also enjoyed it because LoBrutto did his research, consulting historical records in New York City, and reconstructing the director’s early life. In many ways, our book follow in LoBrutto’s wake.

By Vincent Lobrutto,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Stanley Kubrick as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Stanley Kubrick, director of the acclaimed films Path of Glory, Spartacus, Lolita, Dr. Strangelove, 2001: Space Odyssey. A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, and Full Metal Jacket, is arguably one of the greatest American filmmakers. Yet, despite being hailed as a giant" by Orson Welles, little is known about the reclusive director. Stanley Kubrick ,the first full-length study of his life,is based on assiduous archival research as well as new interviews with friends, family, and colleagues.Film scholar Vincent LoBRutto provides a comprehensive portrait of the director, from his high school days, in the Bronx and his stint as a photographer for…


Explore my book 😀

Kubrick: An Odyssey

By Robert Kolker, Nathan Abrams,

Book cover of Kubrick: An Odyssey

What is my book about?

An in-depth biography of one of the 20th century’s great artists. We explore Kubrick’s beginnings as a photographer through his controversial last film, Eyes Wide Shut, concentrating on his domestic and working life with the aim of disproving the myth of Kubrick the mad recluse, revealing instead an artist dedicated to every detail of the making of his films.

This dedication resulted in slow, deliberate research and pre-production. The actual process of making a film was equally deliberate. Kubrick took all the time he needed; he pushed his actors to the limit in order to get the performance he needed. He pushed himself mercilessly. But he was also a loving father, husband, son, grandfather and uncle.

Book cover of Stanley Kubrick: American Filmmaker
Book cover of Stanley Kubrick Director: A Visual Analysis
Book cover of Kubrick: The Definitive Edition

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