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Before Platoon brought Oliver Stone international success, he fought in Vietnam and was wounded twice. After returning from the war, he entered New York University, where he studied film with Martin Scorsese. At night, Stone drove a taxi, and during the day he worked as an assistant producer and wrote scripts, receiving refusals over and over again. This book is the story of the director of Platoon and El Salvador, the screenwriter of Midnight Express, Conan the Barbarian and Scarface, a talented and honest man who fought against circumstances and temptations, improvised and fought his way to shoot his own movie. This is a story about growing up in years of great change, when people lived through politics and social problems, defeat and loss of confidence, early success and arrogance. This is a contemporary story about the faces of the American film industry in the 1970s and 1980s, crooks and heroes - people who by their very presence bring you good or destroy you if you let them. And, of course, this book is about the love of cinema and life itself.