Is Michael Mann an auteur? Mann is a formidablefilmmaking personality, no doubt, but the notion that today's celebrity cult ofdirector immediately correlates with the mysterious sect of 'auteur' isquestionable and deserves to be investigated. In doing so this book strives toemulate the methodology of the man himself, by ranging over not only the filmshe has made, from 1979’s The Jericho Mile to 2015's Blackhat, but also thescope of intellectual interests that they exemplify in an attempt to mine thecommonalities, themes and traits that may suggest the presence of an auteur. Through his investigation of Mann's filmography and the personality that flowsthrough it, author Deryck Swan provides the reader with accessible and new waysof thinking about his films to date, including, amongst myriad other things,references to painter Morris Louis, desert modernism, West Coastprison culture, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, Strain Theory, journalist Mike Royko, Chicago'sAuditorium building and a largely forgotten Charles Bronson film.