If you are only interested in reading about old science fiction movies, then this book is not for you. For this book contains a lot of dull stuff about a man who touched the beating heart of another; stepped into the cold of outer space; witnessed the horrors of Dachau; directed some of the first TV shows; called one of the most famous opera singers of the century "father"; became a war hero; was knighted; had himself arrested for drunk driving; worked with laser beams; jumped out of airplanes; "infiltrated" an American city; broke a 400 year-old cipher; wrestled lions; had the fangs of a leopard at his throat; picked up a prostitute; learned how to kill with a pencil; rode an African elephant; sorted 50,000 beetles; stage-managed ice shows; worked with rockets and the Rockettes. A man who was a spy and counterspy, an actor, stage manager, singer, set designer. He speaks six languages; is a novelist and has been a gourmet chef; helped sail a tall ship and... and—incidentally—wrote or directed a bunch of science fiction movies that many of us have enjoyed! Several of which have become both cult movies and earned a respectable place among mainstream viewers. So perhaps you’ll want to read this book after all.