It was the sight of the Statue of Liberty that caused the 6-year-old Sicilian immigrant boy to change his name from Franco to Frank Capra and become one of the great chroniclers of America - how Americans love, govern, dream, and fight for their individuality. Capra went on to create a body of work that extends from boisterous comedies ( It Happened One Night ) through social films such as Mr Smith Goes to Washington and Mr Deeds Goes to Town , and culminated in his masterpiece, It's a Wonder ful Life. For James Stewart, "the best Frank Capra story is the story of his own life. It's got more highs and lows than a rollercoaster." His films are as complex and rich as his life - characterized by a deep humanity, which, Wasson argues, elevates him above all other Hollywood film-makers. And it is this humanity that ensures they still speak to us today. This extraordinary book, making full use of Capra's own archives for the first time - including deeply personal writings from his later years - brings this seminal artist into urgent life for the first time. At the same time, in its epic richness, it offers a dazzling portrait, both of a lost America and an enduring one.