Spike Lee

Kaleem Aftab's authorised biography of Lee chronicles his film work in definitive detail, but also explores the many social issues and controversies that the work has addressed and generated; also the inspirational affect Lee has had upon his own and subsequent generations of black film-makers (he gave Halle Berry her first break, and early lead roles to Denzel Washington and Samuel Jackson). Every one of Lee's films has tackled a subject and caused a stir: from female sexuality in She's Gotta Have It to New York race riots in Do the Right Thing and jazz in Mo' Better Blues; interracial sex in Jungle Fever; revolutionary pan-Africanism in Malcolm X; the 'War on Drugs' in Clockers; Louis Farrakhan's 'Million Man March' in Get on the Bus; black poverty and pro-basketball in He Got Game...As such Lee has made himself a spokesman on US race relations, but he is also an entrepreneur and a provocateur. This biography, prepared with Lee's co-operation and with input from his friends, family and collaborators, tells the extraordinary life story of a true American original.