Werner Herzog’s uncompromising gaze appears to challenge the reader from the cover of his autobiography Every Man for Himself and God Against All. “This is me, like it or not”, he seems to be saying, and that is very much the tone of this collection of essays about his life and work. And what a life he has had. Born in a remote part of Bavaria during the Second World War and raised in poverty and hunger, Herzog turned himself into one of the world’s most celebrated and accomplished filmmakers, driven by extraordinary determination, single-mindedness, and a unique artistic vision.

I first discovered Herzog’s films when I was a regular visitor to The National Film Theatre in London in my 20s. They made a big impression on me at the time, and I still think of Fitzcarraldo as one of my favorite movies. But the chapters in this essay collection devoted to the making of those films were for me, somewhat surprisingly, the least interesting. What will stick with me is the account of his boyhood in Bavaria and those early years making his way in Munich. He was a maverick, daredevil, and rule breaker from the very beginning, and he grew into the most marvelous storyteller.