Akira Kurosawa. 
 
Knopf: 1982. First edition. Hardcover in a jacket. Octavo. Tanning and shelfwear along the top and bottom edges of the jacket. Tanning along the edges of the boards, and two ink smudges on the back board. First free endpaper is clipped. The free endpaper at the end of the book has a few specks on it, and the attached endpaper has a small bump. Besides a few stains on the opening leaves and small ones on pages 50 and 51, the text is clean. 205 pages. Very good. 
 
Few men can make a legitimate claim to be the greatest director in the world. With this book you gain access not only to the childhood dreams and hardships that inspired the films but to the making of them, plus all the serious introspection and studio gossip you could ask for from a great artist. 
 
"I realized there were still limitless things for me to study and absorb. During the war I had been starved for beauty, so I rushed headlong into the world of traditional Japanese arts as to a feast. I may have been motivated by a desire to escape from reality around me, but what I managed to learn despite the motive was nevertheless of great value to me."