This comprehensive, up-to-date analysis of all the works of Steven Spielberg is written by some of the top scholars working in fields ranging from philosophy and art to history and film studies. The chapters illuminate for scholars and fans the entire artistic career of Steven Spielberg.

Part I: The Artist and Philosopher Chapter 1: "One of the Phenomenal Debut Films in the History of Movies": The Sugarland Express as Expression of Spielberg's 'Movie Sense' and as Contribution to a Genre Cycle, David LaRocca Chapter 2: Adapting Objects: Spielberg and the Art of Making Strange, Paul Johnson Chapter 3: Fear and Wonder: The Lived-Body Experience of Spielberg's Cinema, Adam Daniel Chapter 4: Galloping into the Jaws of Death: The Psychology of Animal Symbolism in Jaws and War Horse, Jennifer L. McMahon Chapter 5: A Million Light Years from Home: Spielberg's Extraterrestrials, Transhumanism, and Constructions of Alterity, Elizabeth LowryChapter 6: Of Children and Redrums: The Influence of Stanley Kubrick on A.I. and Minority Report, Elsa Colombani Part II: The DreamerChapter 7: Poiesis and Miracles: From Something Evil to "The Mission," Fernando Gabriel Pagnoni Berns, Mariana Soledad Zárate, and Eduardo VeteriChapter 8: Deus ex Machina: Spielberg's Fantastic Visions of Tragedy and Grace, Joshua Sikora Chapter 9: A Modern Pythia: The Oracle in Minority Report, Sabine PlankaChapter 10: The Politics of Nostalgia: Reconstructing Epic Heroism in Spielberg's Amblin' and Always, Christian JimenezChapter 11: Piracy, Boy Heroes, and the Importance of Playing the Game in Spielberg's Hook and The Adventures of Tintin, Sue Matheson Chapter 12: Categorizing E.T., Christopher H. KetchamPart III: The Historian Chapter 13: "I Thought You Were an American": Spielberg, 1941, and Saving Private Ryan, Sean O'ReillyChapter 14: Testimonies of the Past: Spielberg's Moral Exploration of Racial Discrimination," Michael Versteeg Chapter 15: Writing Postmodern Histories in Hollywood: The Portrayal of the Male Characters in Catch Me If You Can, Bridge of Spies, and The Post, Orsolya Karacsony Chapter 16: Dignified Professor and Intrepid Adventurer: Two Facets of Indiana Jones, Carl SobocinskiChapter 17: "We Spared No Expense": Practical Utopias in Jurassic Park, The Terminal, and Ready Player One," Carl SweeneyChapter 18: Trivialization, Displacement, and Historical Amnesia: The Work of Innocence and Embrace in Empire of the Sun and War of the Worlds, Naaman K. Wood and David J. Strickler