This collection of essays offers a comprehensive examination of his life and career, revealing the frequent intersections between Fords personal life and artistic vision. Part one provides an overview of Fords importance in the early development of cinema. Part two focuses on selected aspects of Fords personal life, specifically his genealogy, Irish heritage, and roots in the coastal community of Portland, Maine. Part three situates Fords films within a broader cultural and intellectual context, exploring theories that explain why Fords movies have sparked such interest, debate, and enjoyment...

"Traces the rise of the Irish-American immigrant community in Portland, Maine, through its control of waterfront labor over eight decades before the port s twentieth century decline. The book is a valuable contribution to local labor history that situates its subject within the broader picture of U.S. history during a crucial period in the formation of the nation's economic and social identity."--Lincoln P. Paine, author of Down East
"Vividly reveals how America's maritime culture has declined over a very short period of time."--Gene Allen Smith, coeditor, New Perspectives on...